JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – The case against a Reynoldsville man who allegedly stole money from a disabled victim is continuing to make its way through the court system.
Court documents indicate 30-year-old Richard Andrew Hinojosa is scheduled for a conference with Jefferson County District Attorney Jeffrey D. Burkett on Wednesday, September 16.
Hinojosa faces the following charges:
– Other Reason Access Device Is Unauthorized By Issuer, Misdemeanor 1 (four counts)
– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Misdemeanor 1 (three counts)
– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Misdemeanor 2
Jury selection for a possible trial is scheduled for November 9.
Hinojosa remains free on $10,000.00 unsecured bail.
The charges stem from an investigation into theft from a disabled victim in Brookville Borough.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint released to exploreJeffersonPA.com on April 16, Brookville Borough Police were dispatched to a location on Hastings Street around 1:48 p.m. on February 12 for a report of a theft of money.
Brookville Police spoke to a known victim who has a disability and relies on transportation set up through SAM and Jefferson County Services to go to medical appointments and for other qualifying trips.
The victim reported she had been using private transportation through Jefferson County Services to take her to physical therapy appointments, and said Richard Hinojosa had been transporting her for more than a year, according to the complaint.
She noted that during those transports, it was not uncommon for Hinojosa to help her make purchases of cigarettes and other items, and she had given Hinojosa access to her debit card and her PIN for making authorized purchases at her request, the complaint indicates.
The victim told police she is very strict about monitoring her account balance due to being on a fixed income and said that during a recent check of her account balance, she found it to be lower than she believed it should have been. She then asked to go over her monthly transaction report to find out where the missing money had gone.
According to the complaint, the review of her records showed an ATM cash withdrawal of $330.00 from her account on January 16 at the Sheetz in Brookville. And, a later review of the victim’s account records for the year by police showed very few ATM withdrawals were made from the account.
The victim told police she did not authorize the January 16 withdrawal, as well as several additional withdrawals, including a $300.00 withdrawal on January 10, a $200.00 withdrawal on December 11, 2019, and a $300.00 withdrawal on December 6, 2019.
According to the complaint, police were able to confirm through medical records that the victim was at scheduled physical therapy appointments on the days of all four ATM transactions. They obtained security video footage from Sheetz for the January 16 withdrawal, which showed a white male with glasses using the victim’s card at the store’s ATM, then buying lottery tickets. The man was then seen purchasing snack items with the cash, but no cigarettes, then leaving the store and exiting the property in a black SUV with a large Pittsburgh Penguins sticker on the back windshield.
The complaint states comparison between the male in the video and the photo from Hinjosa’s driver’s license appeared to be the same person. Brookville Police also contacted Chief Troy Bell, of the Reynoldsville Police Department, and asked him to go to Hinjosa’s residence to look at his vehicle. Chief Bell then confirmed Hinojosa drove a black SUV with a large Pittsburgh penguins sticker on the back windshield.
Hinojosa was interviewed on March 3.
According to the complaint, Hinojosa stated he had been driving the victim for ten years, and she had asked him to make purchases for her using her debit card. He said the victim lost $1,500.00 in cash in December 2019 and had asked him to make cash withdrawals, so she could replace the money. He also stated he would use some of the money to purchase cigarettes for the victim and would then give her the receipt and the remainder of the cash after making the purchase.
During the interview, Hinojosa was informed he was alone on the video during the transactions, and he stated that he would buy the cigarettes while the victim was at her appointments to save time. When asked why he didn’t make the cigarette purchase at Sheetz like he said he would, Hinojosa said the cigarettes were “ten dollars cheaper” at another store in the Brookville area, so he went there to buy them. When asked why he didn’t just use the ATM at that store, Hinojosa said he didn’t want to waste the two dollar fee, so he used the one at Sheetz instead.
The complaint notes a follow up at both store found that the victim’s brand and style of cigarettes were priced within three cents of each other, when purchased by the carton, at the two stores, though the “cheaper-priced” store did have a $2.50 coupon available when the follow-up occurred.
According to the complaint, when confronted with the fact that he was seen buying lottery tickets with what appeared to be the victim’s money, Hinojosa said he would make purchases with her money, then replace it with his own cash. He also stated he “had only taken a total of $125,” from the victim and did not take the entire $1,130. He told police that “although he didn’t take the rest of the money, that he was ‘responsible’ for it being missing.”
The charges were filed through Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak’s office on April 8.
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