JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – A hearing was continued on Tuesday for a woman who is accused of stealing a cell phone that was accidentally left at an area business and then lying to police about how she obtained the phone.
Court documents indicate a preliminary hearing for 46-year-old Tessa Rae Hartless, of Uniontown, was continued on Tuesday, June 8, and is scheduled to resume at 2:30 p.m. on July 15.
She faces the following charges:
– Theft Property Lost Etc by Mistake, Misdemeanor 1
– Receiving Stolen Property, Misdemeanor 1
– Furnish Auth. With Information Without Knowledge, Misdemeanor 3
– Driving Without a License, Summary
– Drive While Operator Privilege Suspended or Revoked, Summary
The charge stems from an incident that occurred in Punxsutawney in early April.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint, around 8:39 p.m. on April 9, Punxsutawney-based State Police responded to a report of a theft involving a cellular phone that was reportedly taken from the Cobblestone Hotel and Suites and tracked to the Walmart parking lot.
The victim allegedly reported she believed she placed her phone on the counter at Cobblestone Hotel and Suites to fill out paperwork, then went up to a room and later picked up her son and went to an area restaurant for dinner. The victim then realized her phone was gone, and she was unable to locate it.
According to the complaint, the victim contacted her son and had him use their Life360 mobile phone application to show the phone’s location, which showed her the phone was still at the Cobblestone Hotel. However, she searched the room at the hotel and was unable to find the phone. She then used the application again, and it showed her phone to be at the Walmart parking lot.
The victim then went to Walmart and saw a silver or grey sedan driving through the parking lot, moving simultaneously with the movement of her phone shown by the application.
When police spoke to the victim, she reported her phone had left the parking lot and was somewhere on State Route 119. Police were then able to track the phone to the Snax Food and Gas Station and began to canvass the area.
Police then located a silver Ford Taurus parked in front of the store, and a woman, identified as Tessa Hartless, exited the store talking on a cell phone, approached the troopers, and asked if they were looking for a cell phone.
According to the complaint, Hartless told police she was “given” a cell phone at the Cobblestone. She then entered the Ford Taurus, retrieved a black leather backpack-style purse, removed a cell phone, and gave it to the troopers, who called the victim’s number and found that the phone was the victim’s phone.
Hartless was then interviewed and told police she was at the Cobblestone reserving a room when an individual she identified as “Homeless Mike” gave her the cell phone and said he had found it. She told police the owner of the Ford had given her a ride to the gas station because she doesn’t have a license and said she was waiting for another ride and planned to return to the Cobblestone sometime in the evening to give the phone to the staff there.
The complaint notes Hartless could not provide a location or contact number for “homeless Mike.”
Police also interviewed a known woman at the gas station, who reported she knew nothing about the cell phone being stolen. She was just getting cigarettes and trying to get back to the Cobblestone, where she was staying for the night.
Police then provided the woman with a courtesy transport back to the Cobblestone.
According to the complaint, the woman went on to relate that a known man did arrive at the Cobblestone to see Hartless but didn’t find the phone or give it to Hartless. The woman told police she believed Hartless obtained the phone herself, although she wasn’t completely certain. She also reported Hartless had driven from the Cobblestone to Walmart and then to the gas station.
After police took the woman to the Cobblestone, they returned the phone to the victim.
The complaint states police then obtained video footage from the Cobblestone that confirmed the victim had left her phone on the counter there, and Hartless then picked it up and placed it in a pink purse.
The charges were filed against Hartless through Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock’s office on April 22.
Court documents indicate Hartless has a criminal history in the local area with charges ranging from DUI and harassment to false reports to law enforcement.
She also has DUI cases currently pending in Indiana County and Fayette County.
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