PUNXSUTAWNEY BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) – A Punxsutawney man is facing charges after allegedly stealing money from the vending machines of a local newspaper.
Court documents indicate the Punxsutawney Borough Police Department filed criminal charges against 39-year-old Shane Lee Shepler, of Punxsutawney.
According to a criminal complaint, on Wednesday, October 3, Officers Miller and Zeitler, of the Punxsutawney Borough Police Department, received a request to respond to the post office on East Mahoning Street for a report of a man stealing money from the Spirit newspaper vending machine.
According to the complaint, a witness reported a man wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt entered the hinged lockbox containing the quarters and took them before leaving the area on foot heading toward Hampton Avenue.
Officer Zeitler observed a man matching the description, known to the officers through prior contact as Shane Shepler, in front of Shop N’ Save. The officers also noted Shepler had a handful of quarters in his pocket.
According to the complaint, Shepler allegedly said that he had been at Puff’s Tobacco playing the push quarter game and denied getting into the newspaper machine.
The officers checked the newspaper vending machine and found no sign of forced entry. The witness stated that the back of the machine hinged upward. The complaint notes the machine is designed so that it would require the lock to be opened with a key to gain access.
The officers went on to Puff’s Tobacco where a store employee confirmed Shepler had been earlier. However, the store employee said Shepler was not at the coin push machine during his visit to the store.
The officers then found Shepler at his residence and requested that he accompany them back to the machine. Officer Miller asked to see Shepler’s keys, and Shepler complied. A single key on a key ring in Shepler’s possession fit and unlocked the padlock, allowing access to the money inside the machine, according to the complaint.
Shepler was then transported to the police station.
According to the complaint, Shepler then admitted that he was at the post office and had used the key to remove $4.00 in quarters from the vending machine. He also admitted to having taken $3.75 in quarters from the same machine previously.
Officer Miller spoke to a staff member from the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper.
According to the complaint, the member reported that the machine in question, as well as a couple of others, have been short on money over the last few weeks, and noted that all of the boxes that have been short have the same lock and key.
The staff member later reported that it will cost the newspaper several hundred dollars to replace all of the locks on the machine and provided a printout of machine sales over the previous thirteen weeks. Officer Miller noted that the machine consistently generated an average of $30.00 in sales per week up until approximately three weeks earlier when it appeared there had been less than $10.00 on an average left in the machines per week.
Based on the investigation, the following charges were filed on Friday, October 5, in Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock’s office:
– Theft by Unlawful Taking, Misdemeanor 3
– Receiving Stolen Property, Misdemeanor 3
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, with Judge Mizerock presiding.
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