Man Found With Knife, Candy & Keys Inside Industrial Building, Cops Say

A Falls Township police vehicle. File photo.

A man was arrested on Sunday night after Falls Township police responded to a burglary in progress at a building within the Keystone Trade Center.

Officers on patrol were alerted to the situation around 8:52 p.m. when the 9-1-1 Center received reports of a man captured on surveillance footage wandering inside the building on Ben Fairless Drive, according to court papers.

As they arrived, an officer noted a broken window next to the front entrance, authorities said.

Officers from Middletown Township and Tullytown Borough responded to the scene and helped encircle the building.

Officers and a K-9 unit from Middletown Township entered the building to conduct a search, police said.

A man was seen momentarily inside before retreating further into the building, which houses offices and a warehouse, police said.

The man was later found by an officer. He was hiding behind a large roll of bubble wrap, police said.

When confronted and ordered to surrender, the man, who was holding a small knife, complied by putting down the weapon and remarking that it was intended for use against the dog, police said.

The man was identified as 24-year-old Ahlek Mitchell, who possessed a New Jersey identification card but had no fixed address, police said.

Ahlek Mitchell. Credit: Falls Township police

Upon searching Mitchell, officers recovered four candy bars, two chew candies, two cell phones, a charger, and vehicle keys that belonged to a company truck parked on the premises, police said.

A check of databases revealed that Mitchell was wanted in New Jersey for failing to appear in court on a previous case of resisting arrest, police said.

Mitchell was charged with burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, criminal trespassing, and nine counts of theft. He was preliminarily arraigned before on-call District Judge Stacy Wertman and held on 10 percent of $50,000 bail.

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.

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