A man is facing felony theft and drug charges after police say he stole coolers, fans, and camping chairs from a Schuylkill County Dollar General before being stopped on Interstate 81 with the stolen merchandise and drugs.
Donald Thomas II, 47, of Duryea, is charged with felony counts of retail theft, receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking, and misdemeanor counts of intentional possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arraigned on May 11 and remanded to Schuylkill County Prison after failing to post $15,000 bail.
The alleged incident occurred the afternoon of May 7 outside the Dollar General on Suedberg Rd. in Pine Grove Township. A witness told police they observed a man – later identified as Thomas – load fans, camping chairs, and coolers from outdoor displays into a shopping cart and wheel them away without paying.
According to police, Thomas pushed the cart to the end of the sidewalk, then walked across Suedberg Road to Arby’s. A short time later, a black 2023 Toyota RAV4 entered the parking lot and Thomas began loading the items into the back of the vehicle.
The witness reported confronting Thomas to ask if he planned to pay for the merchandise, which he denied, police say. During the loading process, Thomas dropped one of the fans, and the driver of the vehicle ran over it. Thomas then threw the damaged fan into the vehicle before it fled toward Interstate 81.
Police tracked the vehicle’s registration and located the Toyota traveling north on the interstate. During a traffic stop, police saw Thomas making sly movements in the back seat and reaching into the front. Police say he ignored verbal commands to stop moving and was subsequently removed from the vehicle and detained.
Thomas initially refused to identify himself, but police confirmed his identity using state databases. A search of his person yielded 50 Suboxone strips, $245 in cash, a metal scraping device, a smoking pipe, and a silicone storage container, police say.
Following a consented search of the vehicle, police recovered the stolen items, which included six coolers, two fans, and six camping chairs. Store management valued the recovered merchandise at $329.
Police say Thomas has three prior retail theft convictions dating back to 2004. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 21 before Magisterial District Judge Christian Lengel.
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