Man Accused of Stealing Change from Donation Box at Sheetz

Jake Bauer

Jake Bauer

Published November 29, 2017 2:30 am
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CLARION BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — Clarion Borough Police Department filed charges Monday against a man accused of stealing change from a donation box at a local store.

Officer Evan Maxwell filed the following charges against 24-year-old Matthew Kirk Wiles of Indiana:

  • Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Misdemeanor 3
  • Receiving Stolen Property, Misdemeanor 3
  • Disorderly Conduct Hazardous/Physical Offense, Misdemeanor 3
  • Public Drunkenness And Similar Misconduct, Summary

According to a criminal complaint filed Monday at Magisterial District Judge Duane L. Quinn’s office, Officer Maxwell was dispatched to Sheetz along U.S. Route 322 on October 23 around 3:05 a.m. for a report of a theft.

The suspect — Matthew Wiles — was still at the store when Officer Maxwell arrived on scene.

Officer Maxwell approached Wiles as he was ordering food from a Sheetz MTO kiosk.

“I ordered Wiles to keep his hands where I could see them,” said Officer Maxwell in the criminal complaint.

Wiles was on the phone and did not comply, according to the criminal complaint.

“I grabbed Wiles and put him in cuffs,” said Officer Maxwell in the criminal complaint.

The criminal complaint states that Officer Maxwell took Wiles to his cruiser and performed a search.

During the search, Officer Maxwell found $10.68 worth of change in Wiles’ two front pockets. Wiles also had a silver folding knife in his possession.

Officer Maxwell placed Wiles in the back of his cruiser and then went back into Sheetz to gather additional information.

Officer Maxwell and Officer Justin O’Neil spoke with the clerk who stated that Wiles took the change out of a donation box on the counter. The clerk stated that Wiles used a pair of scissors to pry his way into the donation box, according to the criminal complaint.

A video of the incident was later reviewed by Officer Maxwell.

“I watched the video with the Sheetz staff and could clearly see Wiles use a pair of scissors, taken from the counter, to pry his way into the donation box,” said Officer Maxwell in the criminal complaint.

Wiles is awaiting a preliminary hearing.

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