Police say DNA evidence has helped them link the theft of thousands of dollars of music equipment from a storage unit to a homeless man in Pottsville.
Hector Lopez, 53, is facing felony charges of burglary, theft, and receiving stolen property after that DNA evidence reportedly connected him to the heist. Lopez is due in District Court on Monday to answer to these charges.
According to court documents, police were called to Ed’s USA back on July 6, 2024, for a reported theft. A man told police that he came to check on two storage units he rents there and noticed numerous items missing from one of those units.
Police say they noticed a damaged latch on one of the storage units. Inside, the renter said he found a screwdriver that wasn’t his. Police gathered the screwdriver as evidence. They also gathered information regarding who else rents units in the area of the victim at the storage facility.
In the meantime, the victim provided police an itemized list of items stolen from one of his storage lockers. The missing music equipment was valued at $3,850.
A few days later, police say Lopez arrived at City Hall to speak about the reported burglary, saying he learned that they wanted to talk to him.
Police say they told Lopez they wanted to talk to him because his girlfriend’s storage unit is right across from the victim’s and that during their investigation, they learned that she was the only one beside the victim who had accessed their units recently.
Lopez was reportedly told about the screwdriver but he claimed to know nothing about it. Police said they’d be sending the screwdriver away for DNA testing but Lopez said his would not appear on it.
However, on May 5, police say they received a DNA analysis and it connected Lopez to the screwdriver as a potential match. Police say they questioned Lopez at Schuylkill County Prison about the DNA evidence and he still denied his involvement.
Lopez was in prison after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge at the end of 2024, according to court records.
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