Man Picks up Hitchhiker, Gets Taken for a Ride: Police

A motorist got a lot more than he bargained for when he picked up a hitchhiker in Bethlehem’s Marvine-Pembroke neighborhood a month ago.

He unwittingly became the getaway driver for a man accused of shoplifting from a convenience store on Pembroke Road, police said. But the motorist also turned out to be a victim, as the alleged thief stuck a “metal object” in the driver’s side and told him to drive, according to arrest papers.

The hitchhiker, Sammy Avila, 31, of Hazleton, was arraigned Tuesday and charged with felony retail theft and simple assault in the July 5 incident. District Judge Patricia Romig-Passaro set bail at $10,000 and Avila was committed to Northampton County Prison.

Bethlehem police were called to the Friendly Food Market, 1505 Pembroke Road, about 8:30 p.m. on a report that a man had just run out of the store carrying a bag of three cartons of cigarettes he had not paid for, the arrest affidavit said.

The store’s owner told police that he left the bag of cigarettes on the store counter as he tried to charge Avila’s credit card for the purchase.

When the card was declined, Avila ran out of the store and into a gray 2002 Hyundai Accent, police said. The store’s owner had written down the license plate number as the car sped out of the parking lot.

Within 30 minutes, Bethlehem police had located the car and its driver. The car was impounded and towed and the driver was arrested and taken back to Bethlehem Police Headquarters, the affidavit said.

There, the driver was read his Miranda rights and agreed to be interviewed. He told police that he was driving down Garfield Street when a man he didn’t know—Avila—flagged him down. He agreed to drive Avila to the store, police said.

But soon after going inside, Avila ran out of the store, jumped into the passenger seat, stuck a “metal object” in his side and said “DRIVE,” according to the affidavit.

The motorist said he sped out of the parking lot because of the object in his side, according to the affidavit. Asked if he saw a gun, he told police he did not look down. He then dropped Avila off somewhere else along Pembroke Road, police said.

There was physical proof of the driver’s story. When Avila got out of the Hyundai, he dropped his wallet, the driver told police. Police found the wallet in the Hyundai’s glove compartment, the affidavit said.

Inside the wallet, police found Avila’s driver’s license, which had a picture of the same man caught on a Friendly Food Market surveillance camera stealing cigarettes, the affidavit said.

A criminal history check of Avila revealed that he was wanted for shoplifting and that there were active warrants for his arrest, police said. Avila also had been convicted of retail theft twice before, police said.