The arrest in Pennsylvania came hours before the victim was identified as Stuart Arlhuna, 51, of Brooksville.
By DUANE BOURNE
Published August 1, 2003
BROOKSVILLE - Acting on a tip, authorities surrounded a Pennsylvania motel early Thursday morning and arrested the 46-year-old Brooksville handyman sought in the killing of his neighbor.
Charles R. Sarchet was taken into custody peacefully by officers from the Hermitage Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police at the Starlite Inn in Hermitage about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, said Hermitage Deputy Chief Larry Matchak.
The arrest came hours before the Hernando County Sheriff's Office identified the victim from fingerprint analysis as Stuart Arlhuna, 51, of 3572 Goldsmith Road, southeast of Brooksville.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joseph Paez said Arlhuna was shot multiple times and was left for dead on his property. His badly decomposed body was discovered in his yard by neighbor Steve Dumala on Tuesday night. A warrant was issued for Sarchet's arrest Wednesday.
That same day, authorities in Pennsylvania received word that Sarchet may have family in Wheatland, Pa., which is not far from Hermitage.
"It's a no-brainer; we always contact the agencies where family live," Paez said. About 1 a.m. Thursday, officers noticed the white Volkswagen Beetle, which Sarchet was last seen driving Sunday, in the inn's parking lot, Matchak said.
A person who answered the telephone at the Starlite Inn on Thursday afternoon said officers contacted the main office Thursday morning and began inquiring about the driver of the car, which belonged to Arlhuna. The man, who identified himself as an attendant, said Sarchet rented a room Wednesday, but refused to comment further.
Matchak said that officers called the room where Sarchet was staying and told him there was a warrant for his arrest. Sarchet later left the room with his hands in the air.
Sarchet apparently drove north more than 1,100 miles to the rural county after the killing, Paez said. Hermitage is located between Pittsburgh and Erie, 5 miles east of the Ohio border.
Asked about a possible motive for the crime, Paez said the Sheriff's Office will be withholding that information until detectives return from Pennsylvania's Mercer County. Detectives had been flown there to process the car, collect evidence and interview Sarchet. In the meantime, Sarchet was arraigned in front of a district justice. An extradition hearing will be scheduled in coming days, said Mercer County officials.
If Sarchet chooses not to fight extradition, he will be returned to Hernando County, where he faces a charge of first-degree murder.
For the past 36 hours, residents along dusty Goldsmith Road had suspected Arlhuna was the victim. But they could not fathom that Sarchet, who lived in a recreational vehicle down the hill from Arlhuna, might be involved.
"Who would think?" said Dumala after learning that Sarchet had been arrested. "You wouldn't think this would happen in your back yard."
Dumala said Arlhuna told him last Friday he was heading to Colorado for a few days. Arlhuna also told Dumala that Sarchet, who did handyman's work in the neighborhood, would be looking after Arlhuna's singlewide mobile home and the wolves he kept.
Dumala recalled seeing Arlhuna's garbage can at the entrance of the private road where residents dropped off trash to be collected Tuesday.
No-trespassing signs mark the road. Dumala described Arlhuna as an amiable man who seemingly was stuck in the 1960s and volunteered at the Tampa Veterans Administration.
"Stuart was meticulous about leaving his garbage out," Dumala said. "If the trash was left out here and he was out of town, I figured I would stick it behind his house."
As he entered the property, Dumala said he saw a body lying on the ground near the van Arlhuna owned. He said the body was in bad shape, but later admitted that finding his neighbor has not hit him yet.
