CLEARFIELD – A Houtzdale man charged with stealing more than $13,000 worth of equipment from a construction company pleaded guilty Tuesday in Clearfield County Court.
Chad Allen Wilson, 23, of Houtzdale pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and criminal mischief in one case and theft by unlawful taking in a second case. He was sentenced to six months to one year in jail and two years consecutive probation. He was fined $325 and must pay restitution of approximately $9,644. He must also submit to DNA testing at a cost of $250.
Originally, Wilson signed a plea in these cases for a 60-day sentence, but Clearfield County President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman denied the plea and told Wilson he would only accept a minimum of six months in jail. Wilson accepted this.
Wilson’s co-defendant, Patrick Michael Dacillo, 23, of Ramey had also signed a plea for a 60-day sentence. He was scheduled to be sentenced, but when Ammerman said he’d require a six-month sentence, Dacillo and his attorney, Carl Zwick, wanted to discuss either accepting this or withdrawing the plea. The case was continued until sentencing court in October.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Dacillo and Wilson entered unsecured buildings owned by a construction company in Bigler Township. They removed many items that were worth an estimated $13,805. They then sold them to a scrap metal company. When doing this, Dacillo inquired about employment and left his name and phone number with the construction company.
Dacillo and Wilson were discovered removing electric wiring from buildings and equipment from the same construction company on Oct. 16 by the owner. In his interview with police, Dacillo admitted to taking the items from the business on three different occasions between Oct. 11 and Oct. 16.
In the second case, Davillo and Wilson removed items from a strip mine, which were later sold to a scrap metal company in Osceola Mills.
