A Schuylkill County man is facing a retail theft charge after he allegedly used his girlfriend’s Weis Club card and then failed to pay for food on four occasions last year.
State Police say they were dispatched to Weis Markets, outside Pottsville, in April. A loss prevention employee reported that a single suspect had committed multiple retail thefts there in 2024.
The thefts reportedly happened on Aug. 5, Aug. 18, Nov. 27, and Dec. 10 of last year. The Weis employee was made aware of the incidents in March of this year.
Police learned through video surveillance and the course of their investigation that the suspect in these four incidents used a Weis Club card assigned to Vanessa Capozzi, 41, of Seltzer, Norwegian Township.
Capozzi is also a retail theft suspect and police say they were aware of her alleged actions. According to court documents, she’s facing five felony retail theft charges, which allegedly occurred back in March 2022 but charges weren’t filed until August of this year.
Later, after asking for tips through social media, police learned that the suspect in those four incidents was Efrain Fontanez Jr., 55, who was in a relationship with Capozzi and lived together in Seltzer.
Police say that Fontanez stole various food items through the course of these incidents, including V8, Doritos, peanut butter cups, and pork. In all, he did not pay for $177.13 worth of merchandise.
A retail theft charge was filed last week in District Court in Port Carbon. A preliminary hearing for Fontanez has not yet been scheduled.
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