NEW BETHLEHEM BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — A 19-year-old New Bethlehem man accused of taking money from his employer waived his hearing in court on Tuesday.
According to court documents, the following charges against 19-year-old Cameron James Travis were waived for court on Tuesday, August 13:
– Theft by Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Misdemeanor 1
– Unsworn Falsification to Authorities, Misdemeanor 2
The charges have been transferred to the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas.
Travis remains free after being released on his own recognizance.
Sergeant Clark of the New Bethlehem Borough Police Department was assigned to investigate a theft that occurred at a business in New Bethlehem on May 28.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Sergeant Clark, it was discovered that a nightly deposit of $515.00 — which was placed inside an envelope in a locked combination safe on May 25 — was taken from the safe sometime between May 26 and May 28.
Sergeant Clark conducted interviews with all of the employees who were key holders to the business and had the combination to the safe. The employees all denied taking any money, and Sergeant Clark then contacted Corporal Higgins, a polygraph examiner with the Pennsylvania State Police, and requested a polygraph test on one employee, identified as Cameron Travis, after reviewing the case.
The complaint notes Travis and an owner of the business had been working the morning that the money went missing. During an interview with Travis, it was discovered Travis had full access to the safe.
According to the complaint, Travis agreed to the polygraph test, and on June 24, Corporal Higgins contacted Sergeant Clark to state that Travis had failed the polygraph and then admitted to stealing the money. Travis also provided a written statement.
Travis was interviewed again, by Sergeant Clark and Chief Robert Malnofsky Jr., at the New Bethlehem Borough Police Department on June 27.
According to the complaint, Travis said he wrote the statement to Corporal Higgins but went on to state that he did not steal the money.
The complaint notes that Travis’s written statement included the following:
“When I got there Tuesday morning I walked in. did what I was supposed to do, and (owner) was upfront. I went into the office, grabbed my bag off the printer, looked at the safe, opened it and grabbed the envelope I put it in my pocket. I still have the money I took and never spent it. I threw the envelope in the dumpster and kept the money in my pocket. I did count it, and there was $515.00 in it. This all happened around 12 or 12:30.”
The state police interview was also both video and audio recorded.
The charges were filed on Friday, July 5, in Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey C. Miller’s office.
