A Coatesville man is facing felony theft and misdemeanor DUI charges after he allegedly stole his roommate’s vehicle from a halfway house in Hatfield Township and drove it to Philadelphia.
According to the criminal complaint, Hatfield Township Police were dispatched to the 200 block of Oak Park Road on Dec. 7 at 2:18 a.m. for a report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, the victim informed police that he woke up at 1:45 a.m. and went outside to smoke a cigarette in the driveway when he noticed his vehicle was missing. The victim alerted the house manager, and the two went back to the bedroom—which is shared with four other males—and discovered that the victim’s keys were missing, as was one of his roommates, later identified as 22-year-old Brandon Burleigh, of Coatesville, according to the report.
The victim reportedly texted Burleigh, who responded that he had taken the vehicle and was in Philadelphia, the report states. Burleigh added that he would return the vehicle in one hour, according to the report.
Police stayed in the area, and allegedly observed Burleigh pulling into the driveway at 4:07 a.m., the report states. Police then initiated a traffic stop, according to the report.
When asked by police during the traffic stop if he had permission to borrow the vehicle, Burleigh allegedly responded by saying “no,” adding that he had snorted heroin roughly one hour prior, the report states. Burleigh then performed a series of field sobriety tests, during which he allegedly showed signs of impairment, according to the report.
Burleigh was then taken into custody, and the subsequent search of his person allegedly revealed five small packages of heroin that were stashed in his right sock, according to the report.
As a result of the incident, Burleigh has been charged with one felony count of theft by unlawful taking, along with misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and DUI.
Burleigh was arraigned on Dec. 7 by Magisterial District Judge Katherine McGill, who set bail at $10,000 cash. He was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy.
(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
See also:
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