Two men were arrested after a witness placed them at the scene of a crime early last Thursday morning, according to police.
Matthew Rose, 27, of Bristol, and John Thomas Mathis, 36, of Fairless Hills, were spotted taking snow removal equipment from a shed belonging to Lakeview Terrace Apartments on South Olds Boulevard in Falls Township, police said.
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The two were accompanied by a third individual in a U-Haul truck. When a witness approached the trio, they told him that they were authorized access to the equipment because the apartment complex subcontracted them for snow removal, according to court papers.
The mens’ statement confused the witness because he was the snow removal subcontractor for the apartment complex, police said.
According to police documents, the trio took two snow blowers belonging to the complex, 10 snow shovels, two spreaders belonging to the aforementioned witness and 25 bags of salt. The total value of this theft was $3,540.
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To check on the trio’s claims, the witness sought out apartment complex officials, who denied that there were any other subcontractors. When he returned to the scene, the witness found the locks to the storage shed damaged, police said.
Later in the day, the same witness came across the same U-Haul truck at the Wawa along Old Bristol Pike in Falls’ Morrisville section. Officers responded to the area and found the truck parked nearby. Only Mathis and Rose were still with the vehicle, which now had a trailer on the back, police said.
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Rose and Mathis told investigators that he they were using the truck for work. When confronted with a witness to the theft, Mathis said that he did not want to go to jail and only committed the crime to provide for his son. Mathis then admitted to police that he and Rose took the items from the apartment complex and took the trailer from the Giant Food Store in Fairless Hills. The trailer was valued at $2,000 and owned by a landscaping company, police said.
Mathis and Rose are both charged with theft, conspiracy to commit theft, criminal mischief and receiving stolen property.
Bail for both men were arraigned last Thursday evening and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $50,0000 bail.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
