Man Arrested After Stealing from 7-Eleven on West Main Street in Lansdale, Police Say

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

A Lansdale man has been charged with felony retail theft after he allegedly stole items from the 7-Eleven on West Main Street and was later allegedly found to be in possession of methamphetamine as well as stolen clothing from Ross.

Lansdale Police were dispatched to the 600 block of West Main Street at 8:44 p.m. on Feb. 24 for a report of a theft in progress. The owner of the store advised they were alerted by an employee that a male, later identified as 34-year-old Matthew Short, was actively stealing items from the store and they were observing him on surveillance cameras, according to charging documents.

Arriving police made contact with Short as he was exiting the store and noted that he was carrying a 20-ounce coffee, which was among the stolen items, police said. Short was subsequently taken into custody, according to police.

At the police station, a search of Short revealed a sock tied in a knot containing an unknown substance, the report states. When asked if it was cocaine, Short replied it was methamphetamine, police said.

A search of Short’s backpack also revealed three items of clothing from Ross which still had their security tags on them, according to police. The total value of items stolen from Ross was $58.97, according to the criminal complaint.

Due to Short having two prior retail theft convictions, the retail theft charge was upgraded to a felony, police said. Short was also charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.

Short was arraigned the following afternoon, at which point he was taken to the county jail in lieu of $500 cash bail. A probation detainer was also filed against him, court records show.

His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on April 10 at 1:45 p.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.