A Hellertown woman has been charged with theft of mislaid property and receiving stolen property–both second-degree misdemeanors–after police say she allegedly stole a wallet she saw another woman drop outside the Top Star Exxon convenience store, 1570 Main St., early on the morning of Aug. 17.
Top Star Exxon, 1570 Main St., Hellertown (FILE PHOTO)
In a news release issued Thursday, police said Mary E. Stein, 63, of the 1100 block of Main Street, was identified on surveillance footage which showed the owner of the wallet dropping it upon exiting the store at around 6:45 a.m.
Police said Stein observed that, and “immediately picked up the wallet and failed to return it to the victim, who was still nearby.”
After police identified Stein they say they learned that the wallet had been disposed of in a location where it was “unable to be recovered.”
The charges against Stein have been sent to District Court 03-2-04, police said.
I think the punishment should fit the crime on this one. For the hours that it will take for the owner to replace everything that was in her wallet, she should be given the opportunity, above and beyond the courts punishment, to choose work like cleaning up the gutters of trash and debris, until those hours have been paid back. She stole the owners money so should now be forced, in addition to the courts punishment, to work for nothing. Maybe then she will realize how important every dollar is to everyone.