REYNOLDSVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – A Jefferson County woman is facing a preliminary hearing on a theft charge related to an incident at a local laundromat.
Court documents indicate that 24-year-old Breanna Nicole Riley of Reynoldsville is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing on one misdemeanor count of theft of property lost by mistake at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27.
According to a criminal complaint, on September 18, 2018, Chief Bell of the Reynoldsville Police Department attempted to contact a known victim regarding a report of a theft that occurred at the Reynoldsville Laundromat.
The victim reported that her wallet was left at the laundromat and another female picked it up and kept it. The victim said the theft occurred around 3:00 p.m. on September 17, 2018, and advised that she had been attempting to locate the wallet and, in doing so, had met with the laundromat owner. The victim noted that she and the laundromat owner had viewed video footage of the incident.
The victim related that the wallet was orange and contained the following items:
- $40.00 cash
- First Commonwealth ATM cart
- American Express Card
- Skylight One ATM card
- Turbotax card
- Unemployment card
- PA driver’s license
- Social Security card
- Book of blank checks in a red and white checkbook
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance card
The complaint states that Chief Bell met with the owner of the laundromat on September 19 to view the footage of the theft. In the footage, Chief Bell observed the victim putting the wallet in a basket in front of a row of washing machines at 2:22 p.m. Shortly after that, the victim’s boyfriend placed the wallet on top of one of the washing machines while he loaded clothes into the basket.
According to the complaint, at 3:02 p.m., a “taller, thin white female with brown hair and blue shoes” picked up the wallet. The woman, later identified as Breanna Riley, then placed the wallet in her own bag. A short time later, the owner of the wallet returned to the laundromat and walked past Riley. There were also several other customers present in the laundromat at the time, but, according to the complaint, Riley did not attempt to speak with any of the parties in the laundromat to determine the owner of the wallet.
Chief Bell spoke with Riley on September 21 and noted that she was wearing shoes that appeared to be the same shoes worn by the woman in the video footage.
According to the complaint, when Riley was asked about the wallet, she hesitated and said she found a wallet and was trying to return it to the owner. Chief Bell then accompanied Riley to her apartment to retrieve the wallet. At the apartment, Riley was able to find the majority of the items contained within the wallet but was unable to locate the wallet itself and $40.00 cash that was in it.
After further questioning, Riley continued to claim she intended to return the wallet, but, according to the complaint, she eventually admitted that she spent the $40.00 cash.
The complaint notes the other items from within the wallet were returned to its owner.
One third-degree misdemeanor count of theft of property lost by mistake was filed against Riley at Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana’s office on Monday, October 1, 2018.
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