A Hatfield Township man is facing charges after he allegedly led police on a brief chase and was later apprehended after the stolen motorcycle he was riding broke down on Bethlehem Pike.
Robert Kieffer, 40, has been charged with felony receiving stolen property along with misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property, fleeing to elude police, and related summary offenses, including driving on a suspended license. He’s currently in custody at the county jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail along with a $77 probation detainer.
According to the criminal complaint, police were on patrol in the area of the 2200 block of Walnut Street at 9:52 a.m. on Oct. 31 when they observed Kieffer — who was already known to police — riding a blue motorcycle past their vehicle. Police said Kieffer looked directly at them and waved, at which point they conducted a check of his driver’s license to confirm it was suspended due to a prior DUI.
As police attempted to initiate a traffic stop Kieffer failed to stop and continued driving, passing through a stop sign, making an illegal u-turn and making an illegal right on red, the report states. Kieffer then accelerated down Bethlehem Pike towards Montgomery Township, at which point police broke off pursuit and alerted neighboring police departments of the incident, according to charging documents.
Several minutes later, Kieffer was located by Montgomery Township Police at the intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Stump Road, as the motorcycle he was driving had broken down, the report states. Police said the registration plate on the motorcycle had been stolen from a garage in Philadelphia approximately two years ago, and the motorcycle itself had been stolen out of Philadelphia sometime after June.
The complaint does not indicate how Kieffer came to be in possession of the motorcycle itself, however it alleges that Kieffer stole the registration plate while at a party at a residence in Philadelphia.
Kieffer was arraigned Monday evening by District Judge Francis Lawrence. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Nov. 15 at 9 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. This story was updated to reflect the child's current custody status.
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