Alleged Accomplice in Wawa Theft Arrested

A 19-year-old Wawa employee in Bethlehem – implicated by a fellow employee with participating in a scheme to steal cash and cigarettes – has been taken into custody and charged.

But Jasmine Santana, like fellow employee Andrew M. Medina, is disputing police and Wawa about how much she actually stole, court records say.

Unlike Medina, 18, who was charged last week, Santana was not jailed after her arraignment. She was released on $5,000 unsecured bail Monday morning.

Santana and Medina confessed to police and a Wawa official they used a manager’s code to steal cash and cigarettes from the 2525 Easton Ave. store between Oct. 1 and Wednesday (Nov. 21), the records say.

The Wawa official put the total take at $5,340.

Medina contends he stole $3,000 in cash and cigarettes, with Santana taking the rest. But Santana, of 813 Evans St. on the city’s SouthSide, told police she stole only about $1,200. She also said she and Medina shared the money they took.

The criminal complaint against Santana, filed Sunday with on-duty District Judge John Capobianco of Nazareth, says she reported for her Wawa shift and was confronted by the same company loss-prevention official who dealt with Medina.

The complaint, filed by Bethlehem Officer Robby Hoppes, explains that Santana and Medina used the manager’s code to refund cigarette purchases in order to pocket money from the store register.

The complaint against Medina, also filed by Hoppes, said he became a suspect through the Wawa official’s investigation. That probe used “video and repeated occurrences while he was working.” The official also said Medina had $160 when taken into custody Wednesday.

Santana was charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy. She was arraigned by District Judge Joseph Barner of Lower Nazareth Township.