Crime & Safety

Man Charged With Stealing Motorcycle from Neighbor's Garage

Bike stolen from W. Union Boulevard garage was then sold to another man who identified thief for detectives, court papers say.

A Bethlehem man was arrested Wednesday and charged with stealing a motorcycle from a locked garage near his home, according to court papers.

Raymond F. Murtz, 36, of 56 W. Union Blvd., allegedly broke into a garage at the rear of 58 W. Union Blvd. and stole a Suzuki motorcycle in late August, according to an affidavit filed by Det. Chad Wasserman of the Lehigh County Auto Theft Task Force.

Murtz then sold the motorcycle to another man who was arrested in Monroe County for riding a stolen vehicle, court papers say.

Find out what's happening in Bethlehemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The motorcycle owner reported his bike stolen on Aug. 29, saying he had last seen it two days before when he left it in the locked garage that he rents.

Police processing the scene found pry marks around a dead bolt on the garage’s side door and found a latent fingerprint on the doorknob, the affidavit said.

Find out what's happening in Bethlehemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

State police spotted the stolen motorcycle on Sept. 5 and arrested the rider, who told troopers that he had bought the bike from a Raymond Murtz in Bethlehem, according to court papers.

The man was also able to pick Murtz out of a photo lineup, the affidavit said. Bethlehem police were also able to match the fingerprint to Mertz.

Murtz was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property—all felonies. He was arraigned before on-duty District Judge Patricia Romig-Passaro, who set bail at $15,000.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.