A Schuylkill County woman faces theft charges after police say she took a misdelivered grocery order from her doorstep, kept some of the items, and distributed the rest to neighbors.
Kathy Sartori, 68, of Schuylkill Haven, is charged with theft by unlawful taking and theft of property lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake following an alleged incident on the evening of March 12 at an apartment complex in the borough.
According to Schuylkill Haven Police, a victim reported that a Walmart grocery delivery was mistakenly delivered to Sartori’s apartment. The victim realized the error after receiving a delivery confirmation photo showing the items on Sartori’s doorstep.
When the victim went to retrieve the order, the groceries had been moved. Police say the victim knocked on Sartori’s door, and Sartori reportedly said she’d given the groceries to the occupants of another apartment in the building.
The victim then approached those neighbors, who confirmed Sartori had given them the food, telling them she had bought the groceries and wanted to help them out, police say. The neighbors returned all the items they received to the victim.
Upon reviewing the returned bags, the victim discovered approximately $86 worth of groceries were missing, and the receipt and identifying name label had been removed prior to the items being redistributed. Missing items included broccoli, cheese, chicken breast, shells and cheese, Steak-Umms, Cheez-It crackers, four red Gatorade bottles, strawberry fruit spread, peanut butter, and chicken nuggets, police say.
Officers responded to the complex and spoke with Sartori on her front step, though police say she refused to allow them inside her apartment. When officers asked if she knew why they were there, Sartori allegedly replied, “the neighbors called because she gave groceries away,” police say. She admitted to taking the groceries to the other apartment, stating there was no name on the bags.
Police searched the apartment of the neighbors who initially received the items and found no evidence of the missing groceries. Police say those neighbors are no longer considered suspects.
Sartori has been ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing on these charges on April 28.
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