Uniontown homicide suspect won’t get $130K seized during his arrest

A Uniontown man accused of fatally shooting his wife won't be able to fund his defense with the $131,000 seized from him when he was arrested at a Las Vegas resort.

Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Mehalov stated Arthur Guty's defense attorney was not able to establish the cash was solely his.

"Proof of ownership of cash is nearly impossible unless there is a paper trail showing that the cash was withdrawn ... (and) we have no such evidence except the defendant's bald assertion," Mehalov wrote in his Nov. 6 ruling. "This court believes that the cash may have been the alleged victim's property just as much as it may have been the defendant's property and cannot not speculate ownership."

Guty, 56, is accused of shooting his 26-year-old wife Franverlys "Nicole" Zambranobriceno, inside the couple's home at 39 Bierer Ave in Uniontown on Jan. 1. Investigators said they do not know when Zambranobriceno died, but said the last time she had communication with anyone was on Dec. 24.

Hours after Zambranobriceno's body was discovered, Uniontown police filed an arrest warrant charging Guty, 56, with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and evidence tampering. He was arrested the following day by Las Vegas Metro police officers while in the dining area of a hotel where he had been staying.

Uniontown police Officer Jamie Holland previously testified that Las Vegas police found $4,329 in cash in Guty's possession and another $131,170 in currency lying on the bed in his hotel room.

"It was used to pay for means to evade the crime scene and evade police," Holland said during an August hearing on whether Guty should be able reclaim the cash. "That money was used to travel across the country."

And according to his ruling in the matter, it appeared Mehalov agreed.

"..There is little to no other reasonable explanation as to why an individual would have this large amount of cash on hand in today's electronic banking society," Mehalov wrote.

The ruling stated that given the evidence and testimony presented that a "reasonable interference may be drawn" that the money found on Guty was going to be used to help avoid his apprehension.

Brian Aston, Guty's defense attorney, did not respond for comment.