The incident occurred outside Beer ETC on Monday.
A Hatfield woman is accused by police of stealing an idling SUV from in front of Beer Etc. and then driving it to Limerick Township.
Amy Melissa Sowers, 26, of the 800 block of Forty Foot Road, was charged Monday with felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property, as well as misdemeanor unauthorized use of a car, according to court records.
Sowers is free on $50,000 unsecured bail, according to court records.
On Sept. 9, at 6:24 p.m., police responded to Beer ETC, 1540 Cowpath Road, Hatfield, for a report of a vehicle theft of a white Chevrolet Tahoe.
Upon arrival, the SUV owner told police he pulled up in front of the beer store and went inside to make a purchase, leaving the truck running with the key in it, police said.
When he came back out, the Chevy was gone, police said.
A bulletin of the truck’s Virginia license plate was sent out to area police agencies, who flagged the SUV at 6:29 p.m. westbound on Ridge Pike at Germantown Pike, per the complaint.
Giant Food Store security cameras showed that, at 5:55 p.m., the Chevrolet pulls up in front of the store and puts on its hazards, according to the affidavit. Then, a white female with a partially-shaved head, wearing a black jacket, black shirt, and jeans, walked across the parking lot, approached the idling Chevrolet, and entered the driver’s seat, police said.
The truck then speeds off southbound toward Orvilla Road, police said.
At 6:59 p.m., Limerick Police advised that they were attempting to stop Sowers in the stolen truck, police said. She was located at Airport Road and Ridge Pike and later taken into custody, police said.
A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 30 at 9:15 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
