A Philadelphia man is facing charges after Hatfield Township Police allegedly caught him preparing to steal a catalytic converter from a parking lot on County Line Road last week.
Police were on patrol in the area of the 200 block of County Line Road at 12:19 a.m. on April 28 when they observed a subject wearing all dark clothing standing at the nearby bridge. Police said the subject jumped off the bridge into the creek below, and they were initially unable to locate them.
After returning to the area where the subject was initially spotted, police said they found a black duffel bag parked next to a vehicle. Inside of the bag, police found a variety of tools and gloves commonly used to cut and steal catalytic converters, according to charging documents.
About an hour later, police located the subject — later identified as 30-year-old Carlos Betancourt, of Philadelphia — in the creek, and he was subsequently taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit down County Line Road, police said.
During an interview with investigators, Betancourt allegedly stated that he was smoking weed in the nearby parking lot and had lost his phone. Betancourt denied that the duffel bag and tools belonged to him and added that he wasn’t trying to steal catalytic converters, then refused to continue the interview, according to police.
As a result of the incident, Betancourt has been charged with felony attempted theft by unlawful taking, along with misdemeanor counts of attempted theft from a motor vehicle, possession of an instrument of crime and defiant trespassing. Once Betancourt was arraigned, a state parole detainer was filed against him, as he was arrested by Hatfield Township Police in 2017 for a catalytic converter theft and was later found guilty.
Betancourt remains in custody at county jail. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on May 31 at 10 a.m. in front of District Judge Andrea Duffy.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
See also:
Man Arrested After Stealing Check, Changing Recipient to Himself and Cashing It, Police Say
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