Suspect left cellphone at scene of catalytic converter theft in Berks, police say

Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read
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Feb. 9—A theft suspect left behind a trove of evidence — his cellphone — after he stole a catalytic converter from a pickup truck in a deserted parking lot in Muhlenberg Township, investigators said.

The victim parked his truck on Exposition Drive about 5 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2023, Muhlenberg police said.

According to police:

When he returned about 4:30 a.m. the next day, he discovered the converter was missing from under the truck. Not far away, he found a cellphone on the ground. He turned over the phone to police when he reported the theft.

Muhlenberg Detective James N. Waits obtained a search warrant for a forensic download of the phone. The Berks County detectives' forensic services unit did the download.

Messages recovered from the phone revealed the identity of its owner, a person already familiar to Berks law enforcement. Based on that information, Waits on Nov. 13 charged 45-year-old Jeramie L. Schweitzer with theft of secondary metal, theft from a motor vehicle and related counts.

At the time the charges were filed, Schweitzer was wanted for failing to appear for a preliminary hearing in a Wyomissing burglary case. According to court records, District Judge Eric J. Taylor ordered Schweitzer held for court on all charges after a hearing Sept. 7, then issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Court records indicate the burglary happened in December 2022. Wyomissing police charged him in August following his arrest by Bern Township police.

According to investigators, a Bern Township officer found Schwetizer underneath an abandoned car on Cross Keys Road with a battery-powered reciprocating saw. They charged him with trying to steal the catalytic converter.

Converters contain a precious metal that is in demand by scrap dealers.

Schweitzer, who at the time had a West Reading address, was released on nominal bail after his August arraignments in those cases.

He was brought in for arraignment Thursday night by Muhlenberg police. Details of how he was taken into custody were unavailable.

Following arraignment before District Judge Carissa L. Johnson, Schweitzer, now of the 400 block of Ada Drive, Exeter Township, was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $15,000 bail to await a hearing.