Towamencin Township Police. Photo by James Short.
A Hatfield Township man was charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses by Towamencin Township Police, as he is accused of breaking into a business, where he drilled a hole in a coconut and drank the water and then stole a bike.
Steven Shane Tyson, 49, of the 700 block of Bethlehem Pike, Colmar, was charged July 22 by police with felony burglary of a structure without overnight accommodations, felony criminal trespassing by entering a structure, and misdemeanor charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, per court records.
On July 22, 2024, a worker at All American Aerial Inc., 1232 Forty Foot Road, reported a burglary that was discovered to have occurred two days prior, police said.
On July 20, at 11:30 a.m., a shirtless older white male wearing a backwards Yankees cap, silver necklace, black shorts, black high socks and white Nike shoes, identified as Tyson, police allege, is seen on surveillance video entering the property via a tree line on the west side of the property.
After entering the property, Tyson, police said, entered the building via an unlocked door on the west side of the building.
Once inside, Tyson damaged a coconut, then took a second coconut and drilled a hole into it, per the affidavit. Then, he drank the liquid inside the coconut.
After that, Tyson leaves the building, police said, via the east exit, this time wearing a bright yellow T-shirt wrapped around his waist and a water bottle in his hand that was taken from the property.
Tyson then attempted to open the driver’s door of a work van, but it was locked, police said. He then walked around the building and began to look through items in the yard, per the complaint. Tyson leaves the camera view, but emerges a short time later riding a red and black mountain bike, police said, leaving the property down Forty Foot Road.
Towamencin Township Police asked for assistance from Hatfield Township detectives and Lansdale Police for help in identifying Tyson, per the affidavit.
At 1:50 p.m. July 22, Hatfield Police informed authorities that the individual was Tyson, and was probably staying at the Hatfield Motel, per the complaint. A Hatfield detective confirmed that the mountain bike that Tyson allegedly stole was at the hotel, police said.
At 3:08 p.m., the Hatfield detective saw Tyson exit a room at the motel and hop on the mountain bike, police said. He rode northbound on Bethlehem Pike and stopped at Univest Bank at 990 Bethlehem Pike, where he was stopped by police.
Tyson was advised he was under arrest for burglary, per the complaint. At 3:29 p.m., Tyson admitted to being on the property, but to meet a friend named “Chad” to work on his vehicle, police said. Tyson was told he was caught on camera entering the building and stealing coconuts, water, a bicycle, and attempting to enter a work van, per the affidavit.
Police confirmed with the business owner that there is no employee named “Chad,” police said.
Tyson remains at Montgomery County jail since July 23 on $5,077 cash bail and on a parole/probation detainer, per court records.
Tyson faces a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine on Aug. 14 at 9:45 a.m.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
