A Schuylkill County man facing theft charges told police he was dizzy when he accidentally swapped a broken lawn mower for a working one at a nearby property.
Randy Baver, 62, of Schuylkill Haven, is charged with second-degree misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. The charges stem from an investigation that began June 14, police say.
According to police, a victim reported a red Craftsman push mower, valued at $187, was stolen from behind a plastic shed at a Center Ave. property. The victim told police the thief left a broken Troy-Bilt mower in the exact spot where the Craftsman had been stored.
After the victim suspected the person who mowed a neighboring lawn, police went to Baver’s residence on Dock St. Baver’s brother showed investigators a red Craftsman mower, saying Baver received it from a local emergency medical services agency whose lawn he also maintained, police say.
Police say Baver initially denied taking the mower from Center Ave. and insisted the EMS agency provided the Craftsman.
However, police later met with an EMS employee who said the agency does not purchase Craftsman tools. The employee accompanied police to Baver’s home to examine the mower and confirmed it was not the equipment the agency provided, noting the EMS mower was a front-driven model, not rear-driven like the Craftsman.
Police allege Baver then admitted to swapping the mowers at the Center Ave. property. Baver told police he was “really dizzy that day” and made the swap “on accident,” police say.
Police informed Baver the swap could not be accidental, noting he had to physically walk onto the victim’s property and place the broken mower behind a shed out of public view.
The EMS employee confirmed the broken Troy-Bilt mower left at the victim’s home belonged to the EMS agency, police say. The victim retrieved the Craftsman mower and requested $10 in restitution for blade sharpening.
Baver is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 28 before Senior Magisterial District Judge Casimir T. Kosciolek.
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