Former Deer Lake man faces more theft-related charges - Republican & Herald
A former Deer Lake man facing trial in Schuylkill County Court for allegedly bilking a local automobile dealer out of more than $200,000 is facing additional charges filed by state police at Schuylkill Haven. 8, 2013, incident, Smith charged Schappell with theft of services after he contacted Detweilers Towing about a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck that was stuck in a wooded area of North Manheim Township. Smith said the towing service pulled the vehicle out of the woods with the assistance of a Bobcat machine that had to be rented, released the vehicle to Schappell and charged him $19,400 for its services. On Wednesday, Smith said he filed the theft of services charge against Schappell with Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, Orwigsburg, who arraigned the man and set bail at $15,000 straight cash. Schappell was jailed at the time of Wednesday’s arraignment, placed in prison on June 22 after violating bail conditions on previous charges. Also on Wednesday, Ferrier arraigned Schappell on charges of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and deceptive or fraudulent business practices. Smith charged Schappell with taking $2,500 from Barry Benjamin, Fleetwood, on June 8, 2014, and promising the man a Harley-Davidson trike. Then, on July 20, 2014, Smith said, Schappell took and additional $1,700 from Benjamin, saying it was for shipping and handling and then an additional $1,500 on Aug. 1 and 13, 2014, Benjamin gave Schappell $1,500 for a zero-turn mower that Schappell said was from a bank reposition and finally, on Dec. Source: republicanherald.com
