A Schuylkill County man wanted for allegedly stealing an e-bike in Frackville last month ran from police again Saturday and was last seen riding off on a bicycle, police say.
Joshua Longenberger, 32, who police list as homeless in Frackville, now faces a new count of evading arrest or detention on foot, a misdemeanor. Frackville police have obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was already wanted on theft and evading charges from the October e-bike case.
A Frackville police officer was dispatched around 1 p.m. Saturday to the area of the pump house on Island Rd. in Gilberton for a report that Longenberger was there.
Officers from Shenandoah, Butler Township, Mahanoy City, and West Mahanoy Township joined the search but couldn’t find him. Before they cleared the area, officers were told Longenberger was on the nearby railroad tracks wearing a black hoodie and a backpack, police say.
When officers got there, one of them spotted Longenberger running east on the tracks, away from the officer. Officers chased him, and he ran into a wooded area off the south side of the tracks, according to police.
While searching the area, officers later saw him riding a bicycle on a coal road from Mahanoy Plane east toward Maizeville. They kept looking but couldn’t find him.
The earlier warrants stem from an Oct. 20 call in Frackville. Frackville Police officer Noah Marx was dispatched shortly after 8 p.m. that day to the 60 block of N. Lehigh Ave. for a report of a stolen e-bike.
The woman who called told Marx her e-bike was taken around 7 p.m. and that her porch camera recorded the person who took it.
Marx reviewed the footage, which police say showed a white man wearing green sneakers, black sweatpants, a gray zip-up jacket, and a tan backpack walk onto the porch, pick up the e-bike, and walk off.
Marx asked the woman to email him the footage, then left to search the surrounding area.
While on patrol near N. Balliet and W. Spring streets, Marx spotted a man matching that description, police say. The man identified himself as Longenberger.
Longenberger denied having anything to do with taking an e-bike and told Marx he had just been at the Family Dollar and was on his way to Anthony’s for pizza, according to police.
When Marx showed him the footage, Longenberger denied that he was the man in the video, even though he was wearing the same outfit, police say.
As Marx moved to place him under arrest, Longenberger ran north on N. Balliet St. Marx chased him but ended the pursuit a short time later.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Schuylkill County Man Wanted in Frackville E-Bike Theft, Police Say
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