A former Schuylkill County police officer accused of using official state databases to find information on his estranged wife’s then-boyfriend, had all charges – including 21 felonies – held for Schuylkill County Court on Tuesday.
Doug Litwhiler, 41, of Catawissa, appeared before Senior Magisterial District Judge Casimir Kosciolek for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday morning in Orwigsburg. Litwhiler had worked for 11 municipalities as a police officer over the course of his career. He was last employed by East Union Township until he was terminated last year on Oct. 6.
Litwhiler is facing 21 third-degree felony counts of unauthorized access of a computer system and misdemeanor counts of stalking and official oppression, as well as 4 summary counts of harassment. The state Attorney General’s office says Litwhiler used JNET (a database used primarily by law enforcement) against the rules to find out information about his victims to stalk and harass them. He’s free on 10% of $25,000 bail after charges were initially filed in April.
Two of Litwhiler’s alleged victims testified in open court during the hearing on Tuesday. Special Agent Daniel Shead, an investigator with the Attorney General’s office, also testified.
Joshua Reinhoel said he first encountered Litwhiler on Oct. 16 while he and his two children were visiting the former police officer’s estranged wife at her home in Ringtown. At that time, Reinhoel said he and Litwhiler’s wife, Melissa, were just friends but in November began to engage in intimate relations. Melissa said that lasted for a short time.
Reinhoel testified that he said “Hello” to Litwhiler during that initial encounter. Litwhiler, he said, did not respond.
Following that encounter, however, Reinhoel testified that he was followed one day by Litwhiler as he and his children were driving along Aristes Rd. spotting deer. After that, he said, the former cop would drive by his home in Ashland numerous times at all hours, some of which were captured on a Blink camera.
On Nov. 4, Reinhoel said he pulled over to the side of Aristes Rd. to allow the blue Dodge Ram pickup – which he said was one-of-a-kind – behind him to pass so he could continue to spot deer with his children.
Later, Reinhoel testified that Litwhiler had followed him into Ashland that same day. But that wasn’t the only time in which Reinhoel says he was followed by Litwhiler, recalling two times about a week later when the former cop got behind him as he picked up his children from school.
Reinhoel, consulting a “cheat sheet” while he testified, also recounted numerous times between mid-November and February in which he saw or captured via Blink camera Litwhiler driving past his home.
He also said he got four phone calls and a voice mail from Litwhiler in October but never gave him his phone number. Reinhoel also accused Litwhiler of sending his wife numerous messages.
Regarding the content of the message that Litwhiler left for him, Reinhoel quoted Litwhiler saying, “I must be proud of myself sleepign with two women.”
And regarding the messages to his wife, he said, “My wife repeatedly told him to stop. It’s none of his business.”
During cross-examination, Litwhiler’s attorney, Joseph Nahas, question Reinhoel on why he didn’t bring copies of the messages his client allegedly sent him or even the phone. He also asked if he could actually see Litwhiler’s face when he accused his client of following him.
Reinhoel said that he could see it was Litwhiler on some of the camera footage but “not every time.”
Nahas also asked if Litwhiler had ever threatened him, his wife, or his family, to which Reinhoel said no. On re-direct, Reinhoel said of the persistent contact from Litwhiler, “It makes you feel uneasy.
“My wife was afraid to be left alone,” he said.
Litwhiler’s estranged wife testified that she and her husband are still in contact but that she blocked his phone from hers after their most recent interaction last Friday. She said in court that after he moved out of the house they shared in Ringtown and after that initial encounter with Reinhoel, “He started driving past the house more and more.
“If another vehicle was at the house, it happened more frequently,” she said.
In response to questions about why she’s still contacting him or staying in contact with him, she said, “Sometimes it makes things easier” and that if she doesn’t respond to him, Litwhiler “gets more aggressive” in trying to contact her.
“When he starts with being more aggressive, it’s very uncomfortable,” she said.
Melissa did testify that she’s given Litwhiler a code to access her new home to take care of the dogs for which they have mutual ownership.
During his testimony, Shead testified that he investigated Litwhiler’s search activity on those exclusive databases. The AG’s office presented what it said was a record of those searches, and all but one occurred following his termination from East Union Township.
Shead said Litwhiler used JNET to conduct searches following his termination, which he wouldn’t be allowed to do.
During cross-examination, however, Nahas questioned if East Union Township immediately suspended Litwhiler’s access to those databases after he was fired. Shead said they hadn’t and that he also was unaware of how passwords were protected by township officials.
Shead did say that using JNET requires two-factor authentication, so even if someone else had used Litwhiler’s account to sign in, that other person would also need access to the former cop’s email or phone to receive a numerical code to get access.
During his closing argument, Nahas sought to have the misdemeanor charge of official oppression dropped against Litwhiler, arguing that his client’s alleged activity occurred when he wasn’t a police officer anymore. Senior Deputy Attorney General Katherine McDermott countered that the charge applies to defendants even acting as law enforcement.
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Debbie
June 17, 2026 at 3:02 pm
So proud of our General attorneys office for taking this seriously! My prayers are being answered. Personally I was praying you took his guns and weapons out of his house, he doesn’t respect anyone or anything. I’m petrified of him! ( I’m step-mom) he lives now , less than one mile from me! Yes on pins and needles… ty