A Harleysville man is facing charges after he allegedly stole a truck from a business on Forty Foot Road, provided false identification to police, then performed a voice search on his phone when asked how to spell his name.
Matthew Nino, 19, has been charged with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, along with misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, false identification to law enforcement, and a summary count of purchasing alcohol by a minor, in connection with the Sept. 9 incident. He’s currently free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Towamencin Township Police were initially dispatched to a business along the 1200 block of Forty Foot Road just after 7 a.m. for a report of an overnight vehicle theft. The owner reported a Chevrolet 2500 had been stolen overnight, and he had since been contacted by investigators in Hatfield Township who said the truck had been involved in a hit and run crash at 11:37 p.m. the prior evening.
Surveillance from the business showed a male suspect — later identified as Nino — approaching the unlocked vehicle at 10:38 p.m., at which point he went inside, located the key, and drove away, police said. Investigators contacted OnStar and were able to locate the truck near the 100 block of Runnymede Court in Towamencin, and the truck was towed from that location to a secure evidence facility at the Lower Salford Township Police Department.
Later that morning, a resident contacted police stating he had video of a suspicious male who was observed where the truck had been recovered just after police had cleared the scene. The suspicious person was later identified to be Nino, according to charging documents.
At 1:45 p.m., police said they observed Nino walking erratically on Bustard Road. When Nino saw police, he attempted to cut through a vacant lot, however he was ultimately stopped and detained, according to police.
During the interaction, Nino claimed he had been home alone all night, and when asked his name, he responded “Matthew Bartholomew,” investigators said. After making several failed attempts at spelling his last name, he performed a voice search on his phone to see if he could find the proper spelling, according to charging documents.
Nino told police he was 17 years old and provided a false date of birth, police said, also noting there was a security tag still attached to his athletic pants, indicating they were likely stolen. He also claimed his mother was in Philadelphia, but he didn’t know her phone number and he could not retrieve her number from his phone because the battery died, the report states.
Police note in the report Nino had just used the same phone to find the spelling of his last name.
Nino was taken into custody, and investigators recovered a partially empty bottle of alcohol from his bag, the report states. He was positively identified and police made contact with his mother, who said she had located a Chevrolet key in Nino’s room, which later was confirmed to belong to the stolen truck, according to police.
When informed of the charges, police said Nino did not appear surprised and asked how long he would serve in jail.
Nino was arraigned the following morning by Magisterial District Judge Jodi Griffis, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine.
A review of court records shows felony retail theft charges were filed against Nino stemming from an investigation at the Hilltown Walmart on Sept. 8 – the same day the truck was allegedly stolen. He’s free on $15,000 unsecured bail in that case, court records show.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using police reports, court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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