Credit: Bensalem Police
Three people have been arrested and charged in connection with thefts from vehicles of people visiting graves at cemeteries in Bucks and Montgomery counties, police announced this week.
- Pamela Hummel, 30, of Morrisville
- Jose Leon, 44, no fixed abode
- Nathan Phillips, 19, of Bristol Township
According to Bensalem police, the theft took place between February and April in seven communities, including Middletown.
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Over the course of the crime spree, according to police, the suspects stole almost $5,000 in cash and unauthorized credit card purchases. Authorities said the trio are suspected in at least 15 thefts in Glenside, Cheltenham, Lower Moreland and Horsham in Montgomery County; Bensalem, Middletown and Lower Southampton in Bucks County.
Middletown police reported six purse thefts at Our Lady of Grace cemetery off Route 1 since February.
The group’s spree ended in mid-April after Lower Moreland police responded to a purse theft from an unlocked car at the Forest Hills Cemetery. According to a police press release, the victim told authorities the suspects fled in a beige-colored sedan.
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Lower Moreland police acted quickly and alerted surrounding departments about the incident and relayed a vehicle description. Bensalem police spotted the vehicle at a gas station on Street Road in Bnesalem. Officers found Hummel in possession of credit cards, cash a driver’s license that all belonged to the Forest Hills Cemetery victim, police said.
All three suspect admitted to Bensalem and Lower Moreland detectives that they stole from unlocked cars at several area cemeteries.
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Hummel and Leon are in jail in Montgomery county on charges related to the theft and were arraigned in Bucks County on several counts of theft, identity theft, conspiracy and receiving stolen property last week. Their bail was set at 10 percent of $150,000 each.
Phillips is jailed in Doylestown on 10 percent of $50,000 bail.
