MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – One of two suspects in a Monongalia County drug-related murder has accepted a plea deal in Monongalia County Circuit Court and will be sentenced in May.
Arlo Romano, 43, was originally charged with first-degree murder along with Cleotis “Ghost” Eppes, 48, of Harper Woods, Michigan, in the shooting death of Matt Moore on Round Bottom Road in May of 2022.
Romano agreed to plea guilty to second degree murder in a deal reached with Judge Paul Gwaltney.
Romano was on the run for about five days in June 2022, while deputies with the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department closed a section of Chestnut Ridge Park during the search.
Deputies said Romano was able to steal a motorcycle from a Preston County resident and escape to the Uniontown area, where he was arrested following a shoplifting call at the local Walmart.
Romano will be sentenced on May 7, 2024 and could receive up to 40 years behind bars.