An arrest warrant has been issued for a 19-year-old New York City man facing felony theft and vehicle break-in charges following an alleged vehicle theft spree in Schuylkill County earlier this year.
Rushaun Daley, 19, faces seven third-degree felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, two third-degree felony counts of receiving stolen property, and six second-degree misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief.
The charges stem from a series of alleged vehicle break-ins and attempted auto thefts on March 7 in the Orwigsburg area.
Police say the spree began around lunchtime when a black Hyundai Elantra was stolen from in front of a residence after being left unlocked with the keys in the cupholder.
At a little before 3 p.m., surveillance video at a local restaurant captured the stolen black Hyundai and a silver Kia pulling up alongside an employee’s vehicle, police say. The employee later returned to find the car’s seat pushed back and the entire steering column removed.
At a minute before 3 p.m., three males operating both the silver Kia and the stolen black Hyundai entered the parking lot of Geisinger-St. Luke’s Hospital in West Brunswick Township, according to police. A hospital security officer reported that surveillance video showed one male use a device to break into a parked Hyundai Tucson and expose its steering column wiring. The group fled in the silver Kia at 3:10 p.m., abandoning the stolen black Hyundai at the scene.
A half-hour later, troopers were dispatched to Auction Time Bid Board just off Route 61 near Deer Lake following reports of three males breaking into vehicles in the rear lot. A witness told police he saw two males tampering with vehicles before running back to the silver Kia when the driver shouted to them. State Police say they found three vehicles at the site with broken driver door handles, including two with damaged steering columns.
Around the same time, a nearby resident heard a car alarm and saw a male sitting inside his parked Kia Forte while the silver Kia waited nearby. When the resident approached, the male ran to the waiting silver Kia and fled the scene. Police say the resident’s vehicle was left with a broken door handle and a broken steering column.
Troopers from the PSP-Hamburg barracks spotted the silver Kia – which police said had been reported stolen out of Pottsville – turning into a store parking lot shortly afterward. When the driver failed to stop, troopers initiated a pursuit south on Route 61 into Windsor Township that ended in Hamburg.
Police took Daley, 19-year-old Sterno Leopol, and a juvenile into custody following a brief foot pursuit. According to Berks County court records, Daley previously entered a guilty plea to charges related to the police pursuit and was sentenced to six to 24 months in county jail. He was released after serving 117 days. Leopol’s case is still pending in Berks County Court of Common Pleas.
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