YOUNG TWP., Pa. (EYT) – A 20-year-old man is facing felony charges after allegedly stealing a four-wheeler and a side-by-side from a property in Young Township earlier this year.
Court documents indicate 20-year-old David Wayne Conklin, of Anita, Pa., is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 19.
He faces the following charges:
– Burglary – Overnight Accommodation, No Person Present, Felony 1
– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 2 (two counts)
The charges stem from a burglary that occurred in Young Township around Labor Day Weekend.
According to a criminal complaint, on August 30, Trooper Mosier of the Punxsutawney-based State Police was dispatched to a location on North Main Street in Young Township, Jefferson County, for a report of a burglary.
The building in question was recently purchased and was being remodeled. The complaint notes there were no signs of force on the building and no one was present during the burglary.
Around 1:10 p.m. Trooper Mosier spoke with the owner of the building who stated he was using the rear section of the building to store his yellow 2003 Suzuki LTX400 four-wheeler as well as a red and black 2001 Yamaha Rhino 700 side-by-side owned by another man. The owner said he left the building for the night around 9:00 p.m. on August 28, and when the other man’s wife went to the building on August 29, around 7:00 a.m., she noticed items moved that would have been around the four-wheeler.
According to the complaint, the owner noted that employees of a rooming company had installed a new roof on the building the previous week and were all over the inside of the building to access the roof drains. He also stated the wooden gate between the building and the apartment next door had been left open recently when it had been shut. He went on to stated the only other contractor at the building was to install overhead doors approximately a month earlier.
Trooper Mosier obtained a list of the crew that worked on the building from the roofing company.
The complaint notes that when he went to question one of the listed employees, David Wayne Conklin, at his home, there was a side-by-side parked behind the residence that matched the description of the stolen side-by-side, though it had been painted black, and Trooper Mosier was unable to locate a VIN. Trooper Mosier then contacted the building owner by phone.
According to the complaint, the building owner was able to confirm the side-by-side found at Conklin’s home was the stolen vehicle.
Trooper Mosier was then able to find the vehicle’s registration in the glove box. He also discovered a 2008 Dodge Ram registered to Conklin with decals from the roofing company on the doors in a shed on the property and confirmed with the property owner that Conklin rented the property.
An ATV matching the description of the stolen four-wheeler was then also found in the shed, according to the complaint. The VIN was also found to match the VIN of the stolen ATV.
Conklin was then interviewed on September 15. He allegedly stated that he noticed the side-by-side and the four-wheeler while working at the property and then “made a dumb decision and took both.” He told police he acted alone and no one helped him or watched.
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