Upper Gwynedd Police Photo by James Short.
Chad Marshall Krug aka Maxwell Ryan Kepler, of the 2600 block of Jean Drive, Hatfield, was also arrested and charged by Hatfield Police in a separate case
A Hatfield man with three prior retail theft convictions awaits trial in Montgomery County court on yet another felony retail theft charge, this time being accused by Upper Gwynedd Police with shoplifting $14 in beverages and alcohol from Royal Farms on Sumneytown Pike last month.
Furthermore, court records show Chad Marshall Krug aka Maxwell Ryan Kepler, 31, of the 2600 block of Jean Drive, but who police also list as having no fixed address on some criminal dockets, awaits a December preliminary hearing from an Oct. incident in Hatfield Township on a felony count of fleeing from police to avoid apprehension, according to court records.
Krug aka Kepler was charged Oct. 4 by Upper Gwynedd Police with a felony retail theft charge in the incident that occurred the afternoon of Sept. 24 at the 467 Sumneytown Pike store, which would later involve the assistance of Lansdale Police to track him down.
According to the complaint, police were called to Royal Farms for a theft in progress involving a man with a blond-red beard, wearing a navy blue Champion-brand hoodie, gray sweatpants, and gray Nike sneakers, with a left forearm sleeve tattoo, who had fled from the store and was on a bike heading toward North Wales Borough.
CCTV footage allegedly captured Krug entering the store at 1:33 p.m. and heading to the cold alcohol section. There, Krug allegedly grabbed a 24-oz. raspberry-flavored Twisted Tea, a 24-oz. Lipton Hard peach iced tea, and two 20-oz. Gatorade-brand Glacier Freeze bottles.
Krug then allegedly walked to the self-checkout, placed the beverages into a bag, and left the store at 1:35 p.m., leaving on a purple Huffy bicycle.
All in all, the items totaled $14.73, police said.
About three hours later, around 5 p.m., Lansdale Police responded to a report of a suspicious person matching Krug’s description, who fled from police on a bicycle at the 7-Eleven on Cannon Avenue. Police said CCTV footage from the Lansdale convenience store showed a man matching Krug’s forearm tattoo, his beard, his sweatpants, and sneakers, police said.
In the Hatfield incident, police said officers were sent to the former Rite Aid at 1856 N. Broad St. at 5:34 p.m. Oct. 6 for a welfare check of a man, where Krug and a woman were allegedly found sitting on the side of the building. As police approached, Krug biked away on his Huffy toward Fortuna station, according to the complaint.
As police knew Krug from prior contacts, a check of his record found an active felony warrant out of Upper Gwynedd for theft, police said. Additional Hatfield officers were notified of Krug’s alleged location near the 1900 and 2000 blocks of North Broad Street, where he was found in one parking lot on the 1900 block.
Police detained Krug, informing him of the active warrant, but he allegedly fled on his bicycle again, riding behind businesses along North Broad Street. When police activated their siren and lights, Krug allegedly looked directly at the officer and continued pedaling, police said.
He was eventually found again on the 1400 block of North Broad Street, to which he was told to stop, police said. Krug allegedly yelled, “F--- you!” and fled on his bike. Police caught up with him on the 1300 block of North Broad Street, and was told, “You need to stop; you have a warrant,” police said. Again, he looked at police, muttered something and allegedly fled.
Police lost sight of Krug and he was unable to be located, according to the complaint.
Krug is jailed on $77 cash bail, which includes a probation detainer, in the Upper Gwynedd arrest. He was jailed on $577 cash bail on the Hatfield arrest, according to court records.
He has a preliminary hearing on the Upper Gwynedd arrest on Dec. 3 before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard, and a preliminary hearing Dec. 2 before Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy on the Hatfield arrest. He is represented by a public defender.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
