Haggard

Haggard

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KINGSTON — Already facing charges of stealing cartons of cigarettes from several food marts, Daniel Lee Haggard is facing additional allegations he stole a purse and attempted to use a bank card at one of the stores he burglarized.

Police in Kingston allege Haggard, 54, swiped a purse from the front passenger seat of an unlocked vehicle parked outside Good Shepherd Academy on North Maple Avenue on Jan. 6. A woman left her purse in the car when she entered the school to pick up her child.

Police said the purse contained the woman’s wedding band, engagement ring and a credit card.

The credit card, according to court records, was used at a gasoline service station on Wyoming Avenue and at the Convenient Food Mart on Pierce Street.

Police said surveillance footage identified Haggard as the person who attempted to use the credit card at both stores.

Haggard was arrested early Monday morning following a vehicle pursuit that began when police encountered him outside the Pierce Street Convenient Food Mart he allegedly burglarized.

Court records say Haggard fled in a vehicle reported stolen in Old Forge that he crashed on Dennison Street in Forty Fort. He fled on foot and was arrested but not before he grabbed the service weapon and genitals of an officer during a struggle, court records say.

For the alleged purse snatching, Haggard was arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Joseph Halesey in Luzerne County Central Court on charges of theft and access device fraud. Bail was set at $50,000 on the latest charges.

Haggard was charged with multiple counts of burglaries, thefts, criminal mischief and loitering and prowling at night for a series of smash and grabs at stores in the area stealing cigarette cartons.

• Dec. 19, Convenience Mart One Stop, Main Street, Swoyersville, attempted break-in.

• Dec. 19, K&S Convenient Mart, Exeter Avenue, West Pittston, burglary.

• Jan. 7, Convenience Mart One Stop, Main Street, Swoyersville, burglary.

• Jan. 10, Convenient Food Mart, Pierce Street, Kingston, burglary.

Although not charged yet, Haggard is a suspect in burglaries at the Sunoco Fast Lane service center, Sans Souci Parkway, Hanover Township, and at Food Express, Route 11, Plymouth Township, on Dec. 29.