Crime & Safety
Man Stole Electronics From Truck, Police Say
Bradley James Heffelfinger of Bethlehem accused of January theft.
Hellertown police have made a second arrest in the January theft from a truck of three cell phones, an iPod Touch, a DVD player, chargers and a cord.
Court records say Bradley James Heffelfinger, 21, of 586 Broadway, Bethlehem, was charged early Saturday with the alleged theft of the items between Jan. 14 and Jan. 17.
The Hellertown address listed in connection to the truck is 1050 Third Ave.
Last month, Heffelfinger’s alleged accomplice – Jason Yenser, 24, of Bethlehem – pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the case and was sentenced. Eight days later, Yenser was granted parole, according to online court records.
In a criminal complaint against Heffelfinger, borough Patrolman Dominick Fragano writes that with the help of the owner of one of the stolen phones, he was able to trace a phone number to Yenser’s address – 52 W. Union Blvd. in the city. The complaint says the items belonged to four different people.
Two other borough officers went to that address, where Yenser agreed to come to the Hellertown police station. He admitted to Fragano that he and Heffelfinger were involved in the theft of items from several vehicles, the complaint says.
Yenser said Heffelfinger came to him to help get rid of some of the items. Yenser had his – Yenser’s – girlfriend contact Heffelfinger via Facebook and ask him to bring some of the items to Yenser’s residence.
Fragano went to the residence and saw the stolen items in a hallway, he says in the complaint. Later, the girlfriend came to the police station and said Yenser and Heffelfinger took items from a vehicle recovered by Hellertown police. She apparently was referring to the truck.
Heffelfinger was charged with four counts each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. He was arraigned at 2:35am Saturday by on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner of Palmer Township and released on $7,500 unsecured bail.
Yenser, meanwhile, was arraigned on the same charges Feb. 26 by District Judge David Tidd of Lower Saucon Township. He waived his preliminary hearing on March 12 and on May 2 pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving stolen property. The other charges were dropped.
He was granted parole on May 10, online records say.
