Courts. (Credit: Flickr/Creative Commons)
Police say Jacoby Crawford, of Philadelphia, returned to the JBS Souderton plant three times, leaving behind bolt cutters, a getaway car, and surveillance trail
Numerous charges were held for Montgomery County Common Pleas Court last month against a Philadelphia man accused of multiple thefts at JBS Souderton in Franconia Township, including one last month where he allegedly cut a hole in a fence and attempted to steal $2,990 in oxtail.
Franconia Township detectives have filed three separate criminal cases against Jacoby Crawford, 43, of the 1600 block of Conlyn Street, since February, according to court documents.
In the first filing of charges on Feb. 25, detectives charged Crawford with felony theft and receiving stolen property, and summary counts of defiant trespassing and driving with a suspended or revoked license, related to a Jan. 27, 2025 theft, per court documents. All charges were waived for county court at a preliminary hearing March 26.
Then, detectives filed felony charges of theft and criminal attempted theft, and summary charges of defiant trespassing and driving with a suspended or revoked license for a theft incident March 11, police said. All charges but the felony theft charge were waived for court at the preliminary hearing.
In a third filing , detectives charged Crawford with misdemeanor counts of theft and attempted theft and defiant trespassing and driving with a suspended or revoked license, police said. The misdemeanor theft charge was withdrawn at the hearing, but all other charges waived for county court.
In the March 11 incident, police were called to JBS at 249 Allentown Road at 1:12 a.m. after security officers saw shadows of people moving amongst the refrigerated trailers at the rear of the property, according to the complaint.
Upon arrival, police found 16 boxes of oxtail had been removed from a locked, refrigerated trailer and stacked near a hole cut in a chain-link fence, police said.
Additional police responded and established a perimeter, and a search was conducted for the suspects on foot, with help from a K-9 and an officer-operated drone, police said.
A suspicious white Ford Escape was found parked at Moyer’s Services, a nearby business, police said. The Escape’s keys were found during the search by the K-9 in the woods near the hole in the fence, police said.
Video surveillance from Moyer’s Services showed the Ford Escape entering the lot at 10:44 p.m., followed by a maroon Chevrolet Silverado at 11:07 p.m., allegedly driven by Crawford, police said. Detectives said the Chevrolet is known to police as being owned and driven by Crawford, due to prior incidents, per the complaint.
The video allegedly shows Crawford and an unknown passenger exit the Silverado and walk toward the JBS property. Meanwhile, the driver of the Escape leaves the lot for 20 minutes and then returns, police said.
At 1:26 a.m., Crawford and his alleged accomplice return to the parking lot, and both of them, plus the driver of the Escape, all enter and leave in the Silverado, police said. The Escape was left behind at the business.
A search warrant on the Escape found a pair of large bolt cutters, police said.
Crawford remains at Montgomery County jail on $50,077 cash bail, which includes a probation/parole detainer, according to court records. County arraignment is set for May 7.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
