Crime News

Facebook Tip Helps Cops Bust Suspected Jewel Thief

Anonymous tip posted to Bethlehem Township Police Facebook page leads them to man suspected of stealing jewelry from Wal-Mart.

  Bethlehem Township police say an anonymous Facebook tip led them to the man who allegedly stole $80 worth of jewelry from the Wal-Mart on Nazareth Pike. Billy R. Inman Jr., 36, of the 700 block of Center Street, Bethlehem, has been charged with a third-grade felony count of retail theft. He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $7,500 straight bail. According to court records, Bethlehem Township police were called to the Wal-Mart on Nazareth Pike (Route 191) on Jan. 15 for a report of a retail theft. Loss-prevention staff provided video surveillance, which showed a man taking merchandise from the jewelry counter. Bethlehem Township police posted two photos on the department’s Facebook page and asked for the public’s help in …

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Crime News

Police: Woman Caught Stealing $27 in Groceries

Bethlehem Township woman with 7 previous shoplifting convictions is facing felony charges for allegedly stealing soup, crackers, pastries and bananas.

  A 62-year-old Bethlehem Township woman with seven previous retail theft convictions has been charged with stealing about $27 in groceries from a city market, court records say. Sally Shosh was stopped by the staff of Valley Farm Market, 1880 Stefko Blvd., after leaving the store around 2:30 Saturday afternoon and pushing a shopping cart with unbagged groceries, the records say. City Officer David Bowerman writes in a criminal complaint that the store manager was told by another customer that a woman later identified as Shosh left without paying. Her grocery bill would have been $26.89. Items included four cans of soup, a box of Little Debbie pastries, a box of Ritz crackers and 2.2 pounds of bananas. Because of her previous retail theft …

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Crime News

Police: City Woman Stole 36 Cans of Baby Formula

Bethlehem woman accused of stealing 36 cans of baby formula on four different trips to Weis Market in Hanover Township, police say.

  A Bethlehem woman is accused of stealing 36 cans of baby formula over four separate trips to the same supermarket in Hanover Township, according to court papers. Kristen M. Fiorot, 28, of 232 W. Fairview St., was charged with two counts of retail theft and released on $10,000 unsecured bail following her arraignment Friday morning in front of District Judge James J. Narlesky of Hanover Township. According to court records, Fiorot was the target of an investigation by security at the Weis Market at 5580 Crawford Drive when she turned up at the store on Oct. 30. When Colonial Regional Police arrived, Fiorot had allegedly concealed four cans of formula inside her purse. Store security told police that she had also been at the store on Oct. …

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Crime News

Theft at Best Buy Leads to Felony Charge

Easton man accused of retail theft turns himself in after police trace his getaway car to his girlfriend.

  An Easton man has been charged with felony retail theft after he and an accomplice allegedly walked out of the Bethlehem Township Best Buy store with a camera, a cell phone and a PlayStation 3 video console without paying for them on Thursday afternoon, according to court records. David Bruce Althouse, 33, of 228 N. 14th St., was freed on unsecured bail after he turned himself in and provided police with a written confession of the theft later that same day, according to court records. Althouse, who according to the arrest affidavit has two prior retail theft convictions, was charged with felony grade retail theft and felony conspiracy. Police have a surveillance video of the thefts occurring. Also, a store employee who was outside on …

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Police: Woman Arrested for Theft When She Went Back for More

A Bethlehem Township woman faces a retail theft charge after she allegedly put stolen items in her car and returned to Kohl's for more, police say.

A Bethlehem Township woman is accused of taking merchandise from Kohl's in Lower Nazareth during two visits to the store Sunday.  Colonial Regional Police say Darlene M. Hunsicker, 50, of 3725 Trythall St. left Kohl's Sunday afternoon with merchandise that she placed in the trunk of her car. But when she entered the store a second time and tried to leave with more goods, she was stopped by a loss-prevention official, according to court records.  The total value of the items she allegedly stole Sunday afternoon was $341.91.  The loss-prevention official said he watched Hunsicker take a shopping cart of merchandise from the store to her red 2011 Suzuki Kizashi sedan. She was observed going into nearby stores, then returned to Kohl’s a second…

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Crime News

Police: Woman Used 4-Year-Old to Help Her Shoplift

Bethlehem woman may have used daughter as a lookout while she stole hairspray and shampoo from SouthSide CVS Pharmacy.

  A Bethlehem woman used a girl – believed to be her daughter – to shield her from the view of a CVS employee as the woman removed a security tag from merchandise, according to court records. ”Someone is coming Mommy,” the girl said when she saw the employee approaching, the employee told police. The incident occurred Wednesday at the CVS Pharmacy at 305 W. Fourth St. in the city. The employee also said she heard a ripping sound and saw the suspect, Frances Michelle Rosado-Rivera, 26, with a white bottle. After Rosado-Rivera and the girl left the store, the employee found a security tag that had been ripped off a white bottle of BioSilk Therapy Shampoo, valued at $26.79. Another store employee told police that Rosado-Rivera and the girl …

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Diaper Caper Supported Suspects' Drug Habits

Three men ran from CVS, each allegedly carrying two stolen $25 boxes of baby diapers to pay for drugs, according to court records.

  An employee of the CVS Pharmacy at 2651 Easton Avenue was standing in the front counter area of the store a little after 8:30 a.m. one recent morning as three men ran past her and out the door – each of them carrying two boxes of baby diapers that had not been paid for. She ran after the men who quickly got into a silver Toyota and fled. On Monday, Javier Ortiz, 36, of Bethlehem, was formally charged with felony retail theft for his alleged part in the incident, which purportedly was to help himself and his two accomplices to support a drug habit, according to court papers. Each of the boxes was worth $25, the arrest affidavit says. Ortiz, who is currently incarcerated at Greensburg State Prison on other charges, was also charged with …

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Township Man Charged in Multiple Meat Theft

Police say Moran helped Palmer Township pal steal lobster and other meat from Weis and Wegman's.

  Eric William Thompson and Michael Richard Moran are apparently fond of surf and turf dining. Thompson is accused of stealing about $1,300 in surf – all lobster tails – and turf – filet mignon and steaks among other meat – on five days in December from the Weis Market in Palmer Township. Moran, a 56-year-old Bethlehem Township resident, is accused of being his accomplice in some of those incidents, according to court records. On the day he was apprehended, Moran blocked store employees at the exit from catching Thompson, who got away, the records say. Thompson, a Palmer Township resident who turned 37 on Sunday, already has been charged with stealing items from Wegmans in Lower Nazareth Township in December. Police subdued him with a …

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