By Jennifer Todd
Manor Township - An employee at an area convenience store immediately recognized the credit card that a young man handed to her early Tuesday.
The clerk was familiar with the name on the card, and for good reason: It was her mother's.
She also recognized the young man. The two had attended the same school, she would later tell police.
Thus began a "comedy of errors" that would lead to charges against the teenage store patron.
After trying unsuccessfully to use a credit card to pump gas at the Turkey Hill at 1503 Columbia Ave. around 1 a.m., the young man was instructed to see the store's clerk, according to Manor Township police.
Examining the card, the clerk quickly determined it was her mother's, according to police.
Police said the employee confronted the man, who tried to give her an excuse about why he had the card. The clerk called police as the man fled.
Investigators said the employee told them that she had attended school with the man, and she identified him as Joshua Devonshire.
Soon after, officers responded to the home of the clerk's mother in the Pheasant Ridge development, which is about a quarter-mile away from the Turkey Hill.
The woman told police that, after her daughter notified her about the stolen card, she went to check her vehicle and saw a man near her car. She said the man, later identified as Devonshire, fled in a vehicle when she yelled at him. The woman told police that several bank cards were missing from her car.
Manor Township police Sgt. Jim Alexander said investigators believe Devonshire was attempting to put back items he had earlier stolen.
Around 7:30 a.m., another resident of Pheasant Ridge called police to report the theft of a diamond ring and $2,000 worth of professional hair-cutting tools from her vehicle.
And an hour later, officers returned to the development for a report of a male and a female sleeping in a vehicle. Police determined the male to be Devonshire.
Investigators said they observed several suspected stolen items in the vehicle.
Devonshire, 19, who has a last known address in Elizabethtown, was taken into custody and subsequently admitted to stealing the items from the vehicles, according to police. He also admitted to trying to use the stolen credit card at the Turkey Hill, they said.
He was charged with two counts of theft and one count of access device fraud and committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $3,000 bail. The female in the vehicle was released without charges, police said.
"Not to make light of this, but, really, this entire incident was a comedy of errors," Alexander said. "Some people just aren't cut out to be criminals."
Manor Township - An employee at an area convenience store immediately recognized the credit card that a young man handed to her early Tuesday.
The clerk was familiar with the name on the card, and for good reason: It was her mother's.
She also recognized the young man. The two had attended the same school, she would later tell police.
Thus began a "comedy of errors" that would lead to charges against the teenage store patron.
After trying unsuccessfully to use a credit card to pump gas at the Turkey Hill at 1503 Columbia Ave. around 1 a.m., the young man was instructed to see the store's clerk, according to Manor Township police.
Examining the card, the clerk quickly determined it was her mother's, according to police.
Police said the employee confronted the man, who tried to give her an excuse about why he had the card. The clerk called police as the man fled.
Investigators said the employee told them that she had attended school with the man, and she identified him as Joshua Devonshire.
Soon after, officers responded to the home of the clerk's mother in the Pheasant Ridge development, which is about a quarter-mile away from the Turkey Hill.
The woman told police that, after her daughter notified her about the stolen card, she went to check her vehicle and saw a man near her car. She said the man, later identified as Devonshire, fled in a vehicle when she yelled at him. The woman told police that several bank cards were missing from her car.
Manor Township police Sgt. Jim Alexander said investigators believe Devonshire was attempting to put back items he had earlier stolen.
Around 7:30 a.m., another resident of Pheasant Ridge called police to report the theft of a diamond ring and $2,000 worth of professional hair-cutting tools from her vehicle.
And an hour later, officers returned to the development for a report of a male and a female sleeping in a vehicle. Police determined the male to be Devonshire.
Investigators said they observed several suspected stolen items in the vehicle.
Devonshire, 19, who has a last known address in Elizabethtown, was taken into custody and subsequently admitted to stealing the items from the vehicles, according to police. He also admitted to trying to use the stolen credit card at the Turkey Hill, they said.
He was charged with two counts of theft and one count of access device fraud and committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $3,000 bail. The female in the vehicle was released without charges, police said.
"Not to make light of this, but, really, this entire incident was a comedy of errors," Alexander said. "Some people just aren't cut out to be criminals."
