A Norristown man is facing charges after he allegedly drove a stolen vehicle to a home in Upper Gwynedd and then emptied some of the contents into a resident’s van which he intended to steal.
Richard Evan, 31, has been charged with felony counts of attempted theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, as well as misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, false identification to law enforcement, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, in connection with the Aug. 17 incident.
According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to the 800 block of Sullivan Drive at 9:30 a.m. for a report of a possible theft in progress of a motor vehicle. Arriving officers spoke with the owners of the vehicle, who stated they saw a male suspect in their van which was parked in the street. The victims stated that they saw Evan placing items into the back of their van while they were working from home, and when they confronted him, he stated that he was looking for his keys, according to the criminal complaint.
Evan then fled the scene in a silver Toyota Rav 4, which had been reported stolen from Whitpain Township earlier that morning, police said.
The complaint states that police located Evan and the stolen Toyota on Sumneytown Pike and initiated a traffic stop between Beaver Street and Parkside Place. Police said that Evan repeatedly lied about who owned the vehicle, where he lived, where he was going and his own identity. While being taken into custody, police recovered a small amount of marijuana, a vape pen and a lighter from Evan’s person, the report states.
At the scene of the attempted van theft, police recovered multiple tools that Evan had removed from the stolen Toyota and placed inside of the rear of the van, police said. Total value of the stolen items was $3,950, according to the complaint.
Those items, as well as the Toyota, were returned to their owner later that day, police said.
Evan was arraigned by District Judge Suzan Leonard that afternoon, at which point bail was set at $5,000 cash. He was then taken to county jail after failing to post, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Aug. 26 at 11:30 a.m.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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