Hatfield Police.
Police said a distinctive arm tattoo of the accused led authorities to connect her to the crimes via video surveillance.
A Hatfield woman is accused of keying two cars in the parking lot of Lowe’s, causing more than $7,000 in damages, and then stealing sushi and a Coke from Shop Rite.
A warrant was issued Nov. 4 by Hatfield Police for Amy Melissa Sowers, 27, of 800 block of Forty Foot Road, to answer for charges of felony criminal mischief by damaging property and misdemeanor retail theft and receiving stolen property, in connection with the Aug. 10 incidents, according to an affidavit.
Police said Sowers’ distinctive arm tattoo led authorities to connect her to the crimes via video surveillance.
On Aug. 10 at 11:53 a.m., police responded to the hardware store at 160 Forty Foot Road for a complaint of vandalism to a car, police said. The victim told police he parked his red Honda Accord in the lot at 10:30 a.m., and when he returned an hour later, there was a large scratch down the entire passenger side of the Honda, police said.
Police said estimated damage to the Honda was $2,866.
Security camera footage from Lowe’s showed a woman, alleged to be Sowers, walk to the parking lot from the area of Forty Foot and Welsh roads at 10:48 am. Two minutes later, Sowers allegedly passed the Honda, walking closely by the passenger side, and appears to be touching the Honda.
Sowers then allegedly continued east through the parking lot, passing a white Toyota Corolla three rows away from the Honda, and appeared to be touching the Toyota as she passed by it.
Then, Sowers walked into Shop Rite, where video there showed her leaving the store with sushi and a bottle of Coke, without paying, police said.
A still frame of Sowers was sent to area police departments for identification, with Towamencin Township Police advising the suspect as Sowers, who had a tattoo on her inner forearm that matched a tattoo on the suspect in the video, according to the affidavit
At 2:01 p.m., police received a second call from the owner of the Corolla, stating that his car sustained a deep scratch down the passenger side of the car, with damage estimated at $4,209, police said.
On Sept. 30, at 4 p.m., police spoke to Sowers at her home, where they recognized her tattoo from the surveillance videos, according to the complaint.
Police said Sowers was arrested for retail theft in Oklahoma in 2019.
Sowers is free on $10,000 unsecured bail, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is set for De. 4 at 1:30 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine.
