A Chalfont woman is facing criminal charges after she allegedly stole merchandise from Wawa three times over a one-week period, with two of the alleged incidents involving juveniles, according to police.
Markiea Keese-Gray, 42, has been charged with felony, misdemeanor and summary counts of retail theft, along with two misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors, in connection with the investigation by the New Britain Township Police Department.
Police were dispatched to the Wawa at the intersection of Butler Avenue and County Line Road during the morning of May 12 for a report of an ongoing retail theft. Store personnel said a woman — later identified as Keese-Gray — along with a juvenile had repeatedly stolen merchandise from the store over a period of one week, according to charging documents.
Investigators reviewed security footage which allegedly showed Keese-Gray stealing merchandise at 7:22 a.m. on May 02, then again at 7:16 a.m. on May 4 with an unidentified juvenile, police said. Keese-Gray then returned to the store a third time on May 9 at 7:17 a.m. with a second unidentified juvenile, with the juvenile allegedly stealing merchandise in Keese-Gray’s presence before the two exited without paying, according to the criminal complaint.
The total value of the stolen merchandise is listed as $15.74 in the complaint.
Charges were filed against Keese-Gray on May 24, and she was subsequently arraigned on May 30 by Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage, who set bail at $5,000 unsecured.
Keese-Gray has a preliminary hearing on June 20 at 1 p.m. in front of Judge Armitage.
According to Pennsylvania’s retail theft statute, retail theft is graded as a third-degree felony when the alleged offense is a third or subsequent offense, regardless of the value of the merchandise alleged to be stolen. The section under “Calculation of prior offenses” reads:
For the purposes of this section, in determining whether an offense is a first, second, third or subsequent offense, the court shall include a conviction, acceptance of accelerated rehabilitative disposition or other form of preliminary disposition, occurring before the sentencing on the present violation, for an offense under this section, an offense substantially similar to an offense under this section or under the prior laws of this Commonwealth or a similar offense under the statutes of any other state or of the United States.
If convicted of felony retail theft, Keese-Gray would face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
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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