A Schuylkill County man was recently jailed after taking a joy ride in the middle of the night … in his neighbor’s vehicle.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Tamaqua Police, officers were called to Orwigsburg St. for a report of a stolen vehicle. Police arrived at the scene at about 2:40 a.m. on Dec. 19 and spoke with the victim who reported her vehicle, a black Nissan Armada, had been stolen.
The victim’s husband reportedly had started the vehicle to allow it to warm up before she left for work. It was only warming up for about five minutes before it was stolen, the victim told police.
Less than two hours later, at 3:45 a.m., the victim notified police that the vehicle had been returned and there was an ongoing altercation with the person who supposedly took it and her husband.
When police showed up at the scene again, the suspect – identified as Alberto Perez-Cuenca – was across the street smoking a cigarette. Police cuffed Perez-Cuenca and sat him in the back of their patrol vehicle.
Police then interviewed the victims of this alleged theft and learned that they saw their vehicle pulling back into a parking spot outside their home and Perez-Cuenca was outside the vehicle. During the altercation after the vehicle had been returned, Perez-Cuence reportedly got back into the vehicle and tried to drive away.
However, the victim’s husband allegedly reached into the vehicle and turned it off. A physical altercation then ensued, with the victim’s husband saying he was punched in the head and their daughter was shoved to the ground.
Perez-Cuenca was taken back to the police station, where he allegedly told police that he was tired and “his head was a little fuzzy” and that he thought one of his friends asked him to take a joy ride with him. He told police that he took a joy ride and then returned the vehicle.
Perez-Cuenca was arraigned before District Magistrate Judge AJ Serina on Dec. 19 and remanded to Schuylkill County Prison on $50,000 cash bail. That bail was reduced to $50,000 unsecured and he was released from prison on Christmas Eve. Bail reduction, according to court records, was per an agreement between the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office and the judge.
Felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property were withdrawn. Perez-Cuenca still faces charges of harassment and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Those charges have been waived to Schuylkill County Court.
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