A surveillance picture allegedly shows Patrick Lee Staley burglarizing a greenhouse in Wyoming on Sunday.
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A surveillance picture allegedly shows Patrick Lee Staley driving away after burglarizing a greenhouse in Wyoming.
WYOMING — A man arrested for breaking into Kasarda’s Greenhouse on Saturday and taking over 100 feet of copper piping is also facing charges alleging that he stole a PT Cruiser from a Wilkes-Barre repair shop and a bank card from the woman he had been staying with.
Patrick Lee Staley, 53, with a last known address in Wilkes-Barre but listed as “homeless” in the criminal complaint, was arrested on Monday night in Nanticoke after he was positively identified from surveillance footage as the man who burglarized Kasarda’s two days prior.
Staley is now facing charges from police departments in Wyoming, Nanticoke City and Wilkes-Barre City on various charges relating to the burglary and other related crimes.
According to the complaint:
Staley was initially identified as a suspect in the theft of a bank card on July 6 by the victim, a woman with whom Staley had been staying with in Wilkes-Barre for a few months.
The victim told police that she had last seen her card on July 5, and that on the day she called police, she noticed that a transaction had occured at the Pantry Quik in Hanover Township in which $201.75 had been withdrawn from her account.
The granddaughter of the victim told police that she suspected Staley, who had been staying with the victim as a favor to a downstairs neighbor who used to date Staley, according to the complaint.
Staley showed up at Wilkes-Barre City police headquarters on July 7 to turn himself in, admitting to taking the card without permission and to withdrawing $200 from an ATM.
The Kasarda’s burglary occurred 10 days later, on Saturday, and Wyoming Borough Police Chief Chris Mercavitch was called to the greenhouse on Monday to investigate the burglary.
Upon reviewing the surveillance tapes, it was discovered that a dark-colored PT Cruiser had backed down the access road leading to the greenhouse.
A male, later identified as Staley, exited the vehicle and entered one of the greenhouses. Once inside, he shut off the water main and removed 110 feet of copper piping from the greenhouse.
The male suspect looked up into the surveillance camera, and then damaged it once he realized that it was filming him. The suspect then left the area in the PT Cruiser, with the copper piping visible in the back of the vehicle.
The stolen items were valued at $611.69 after sales tax, with additional costs from the camera replacement and repair labor adding over $2,000 to the total loss for Kasarda’s.
Later on Monday, it was reported to Wyoming Borough police that the suspect and suspect vehicle had been spotted on West Green Street in Nanticoke.
Staley was taken into custody after officers from the Nanticoke City Police Department arrived on the scene. Furthermore, the PT Cruiser he was driving was discovered to have been stolen from Pep Boys’ garage in Wilkes-Barre city.
The suspect was advised of his rights and agreed to speak to a present officer, at which time he confessed to stealing the vehicle from Pep Boys after burglarizing the business.
He also confessed to “the other crimes he was sought for and accused of,” according to the complaint, but refused to speak further after being transported to Nanticoke City police headquarters.
Staley was arraigned on Tuesday morning in front of Magisterial District Judge Joseph Carmody.
He was charged with felony burglary, theft by unlawful taking and criminal mischief by Wyoming police, receiving stolen property by Nanticoke City police and one misdemeanor count of access device fraud from Wilkes-Barre City police in regard to the stolen bank card.
Staley was lodged at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for failure to post $5,000 in bail. A preliminary hearing is set for July 30.