Crime & Safety
Man Tried to Steal Games from Best Buy, Police Say
A Bethlehem man with record of retail theft is charged with trying to remove video games from their security cases to steal them at Best Buy.
A man inside a bathroom stall at an area Best Buy apparently was doing more than answering Mother Nature’s call.
He was trying to remove video games from their security cases so he could steal them, Bethlehem Township Police say.
The man found by police inside the stall, Jonathan Scott Reade, an unemployed 25-year-old living at his family’s Bethlehem home, has a criminal record with charges in Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties, according to online court records.
Police allegedly found three video games inside the stall but only one – the Xbox 360 game “Far Cry” – had been removed from its security case. The game is worth $59.99.
The incident reportedly occurred around 7:30 Monday night at the Best Buy in the Southmont Center at Route 33 and Freemansburg Avenue in Bethlehem Township.
A criminal complaint filed by township Patrolman Frank Hegedus also says:
--Hegedus, called to the store for a theft in progress, talked to the store manager, who was standing at the bathroom door. The manager said someone – later identified as Reade -- was inside the bathroom breaking into video game security cases.
--When Hegedus entered the bathroom, he heard what sounded like a plastic case opening from a locked stall. He advised Reade to open the door. Before Reade did, Hegedus heard an object fall to the floor.
--Reade opened the door and was “fixing his pants.” Hegedus saw three games on the floor. Two were in their security cases and one – “Far Cry” -- had been removed from its case.
Since 2005, according to online records, Reade has faced charges in Bethlehem (both the Lehigh County and Northampton County portions), Lower Macungie Township (state police at Fogelsville), Whitehall Township and East Stroudsburg (Stroud Area Regional Police).
He pleaded guilty to retail thefts in Whitehall in 2008 and in Lower Macungie in 2008 and 2010. His other crimes include DUI as a minor, DUI as an adult, theft by unlawful taking and possession of marijuana.
In Monday’s incident, Reade was charged with retail theft, which rises to a level-three felony because he has been in three or more retail theft incidents.
Reade, who lives at his family’s home on the 1900 block of Stonington Road in the Lehigh County portion of Bethlehem, was arraigned Monday night by on-duty District Judge Robert Hawke of Lehigh Township and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail.
