Crime & Public Safety.
The defendant was charged this month for a May 2023 incident at Copes Garage.
Authorities allege in court documents that Eagleville resident Shawn David Land, 22, of the 3000 block of Lean Lane, was the man who burglarized an auto garage in Souderton, mainly because he left two credit cards with his name on them behind.
Land was charged by Souderton Police July 17 with felony criminal trespassing-breaking into a structure for an incident that occurred May 20, 2023, according to court records. Land is free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Souderton Police were dispatched to a reported burglary on May 20, 2023 at 1 p.m. at Copes Garage, 102 N. County Line Road, which was reported to the owner by an eyewitness, police said.
The witness told the business owner that he saw a white male with long blond hair crawling o the property of the garage, per the affidavit. Upon arrival, the owner found a door lock had been tampered with and was damaged, police said.
Then, he found the north side window screen had a vertical slit, police said, but the window was locked. A further search of his property found a lock had been cut on the impound lot, police said.
Five days later, at 9:58 a.m., the business owner called police to report that, while trying to get a vehicle’s license plate number in his lot, he found two credit cards laying on the ground, next to a retaining wall, police said.
The cards, authorities allege, had the name “Shawn Land” on them.
Incidentally, Franconia Township Police earlier in the day impounded a silver Cadillac, in which Land was a passenger, authorities said. Police then named Land as suspect in the burglary, per the complaint.
Nine months later, on Feb. 9, 2024, police spoke to Land and asked him to come to the police station to pick up his credit cards, per the complaint. Land said he did not need them anymore, as they were deactivated, and he “was also trying to put his past behind him,” police said.
Land, police allege, admitted to being influenced by his peers that day and steering him in the wrong direction.
Police obtained a search warrant on March 14, 2024 for Land’s cell phone records from AT&T, according to the affidavit. Using a FBI-developed program to map, visualize and analyze cell phone records, authorities determined Land’s cell phone was pinged at a cell tower on May 20, 2023 between 9:47 a.m. and 1:33 p.m., police said. Land’s phone puts him in the area of 709 N. County Line Road, about one-tenth of a mile from Copes Garage, according to the report.
Land’s cell phone usage was tracked, police said, on May 20, 2023 at 4:02 a.m. at Quakertown, and then tracked again an hour later traveling south near Franconia Township.
Police said multiple texts and phone calls were made from Land’s phone on May 20, 2023 between 9:47 a.m. and 1:03 p.m. that was connected to a cellular site at 709 N. County Line Road, Telford. By 2 p.m., Land’s phone was pinged in East Norriton Township, police said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Adam T. Katzman.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
