York County homeless woman charged in ripoff scam with sex offender

A homeless woman from York County has been arrested by York County deputies after she allegedly was part of a scam with a registered sex offender to steal money from a man who had just hours earlier given the woman money, according to police and jail records.

Rita Nicole Sutton, 40, who is listed as homeless in a sheriff’s office report, was charged Wednesday with robbery and conspiracy in the Dec. 16 incident where the victim told officers that Sutton and a man police later identified as Bruce Buckner robbed him of as much as $1,600. Sutton is jailed under a $15,262.50 bond, court records show.

Buckner, 54, of York is a registered sex offender with two past convictions for sex crimes yet told police he was staying at a York motel for a week and had been with a woman he met in Gaffney. He was arrested Dec. 26 and remains jailed on charges of conspiracy and robbery under a $15,000 bond.

The victim told police that on the night of Dec. 16, Sutton came to his home in rural York County near Sharon asking to borrow money, so he gave her $20. She then returned asking to borrow more money when a second person wearing a hood, whom police later said was Buckner, attacked the victim and took the money.

The victim fired a shot at the fleeing assailants.

Sutton had just been convicted of larceny in October, court records show.

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 12:36 PM with the headline "York County homeless woman charged in ripoff scam with sex offender."