PHILIPSBURG – A New Jersey man who was driving on Interstate 80 with an unrestrained child in the back seat wound up in Centre County Prison for several charges.
Philipsburg-based state police saw Matthew M. Condrey, 33, of Newark, N.J., driving on I-80 near mile marker 141 eastbound at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. A trooper saw a child standing in the rear of the car.
The car was stopped for the violation.
At the time of the stop, Condrey could not provide a driver’s license, telling police he forgot it.
The driver then identified himself as a false name before police learned the driver’s true identity.
Condrey was a federal prisoner who was out on parole and was not to leave the state of New Jersey, police report. Subsequently, Condrey was taken into police custody.
Through further investigation, police learned that Condrey was in possession of credit cards belonging to a New Jersey woman.
According to the issuing bank, the cards were stolen on March 22 with $33,000 illegally charged to the account.
The children in the Condrey vehicle were taken into custody by police and Centre County Child and Youth Services.
Condrey was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jon Grine and lodged in Centre County Prison in lieu of $100,000 straight bail. A hearing is scheduled for this week.
Condrey faces counts of access device fraud; receiving stolen property;, theft of property lost, mislaid or delivered by mistake; driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked; and failure to wear restraint systems.
Police were assisted by state police at Rockview, New Jersey state police, the bureau of gaming and Centre County Child and Youth Services.