CLEARFIELD – Two men are accused of stealing a trailer.
According to affidavits of probable cause filed with District Judge Patrick Ford’s office May 2, Robert James Mallory, 31, 194 Mallory Dr., Rossiter, and Brian L. Schaffer, 43, 173 Luthersburg-Rockton Rd,, Luthersburg, are charged by the Sandy Township police with theft by unlawful taking, criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property.
According to the affidavits, on April 30, officers received a report of a stolen, 16-foot, enclosed tandem trailer, which contained numerous items.
The officers spoke with the victim who said his trailer was parked at a construction site at the end of Industrial Drive. He told police there was about $10,000 in various tools inside the trailer and the trailer itself was worth about $3,200.
The officers then obtained security video from Wal-Mart, which showed a sliver Chevrolet truck with a cap on the back driving back and forth toward the area several times. At about 1:49 a.m., the video shows the same truck pulling the trailer and driving away from the construction site.
On May 1, the officers received notification that the Punxsutawney-based state police had located the missing trailer, parked in a driveway along Route 410 in Punxsutawney. State troopers told police they had received a call from a resident saying the trailer was parked on their property.
The officers spoke to the witness, who said a man had stopped at his house and asked his girlfriend if he could park a trailer on her property. The witness said the man, later identified as Robert Mallory, told them the trailer belonged to a friend named Brian Schaffer.
The witness said he became suspicious later that day, when Mallory returned to his house on a four-wheeler. Moments later, a red truck came to the house and started loading tools from inside the trailer into the bed of the pick-up truck.
Officers then went to an address where Mallory was believed to be staying. Upon arrival the officers saw a sliver Chevrolet truck with a cap, which matched the vehicle in the video. The truck was parked beside a red pick-up truck. The officers determined the sliver truck belonged to Schaffer. Schaffer then came out of the house and the officers spoke to him about the theft.
Schaffer allegedly told police that he did take the trailer after Mallory told him it belonged to a family member and that he was just moving it from the job site.
The officer then spoke to the home owner, who allegedly told them Mallory asked to borrow her truck to pick up the tools. She said the tools were unloaded and placed in a storage building on her property. She also said Mallory was hiding inside her house.
The officers searched the house and found Mallory hiding in a small space under the floorboards. Police also located numerous items, which had been stolen from the trailer in a shed at the rear of the property.
The officers then spoke to Mallory, who allegedly admitted to taking the trailer and leaving it at the witness’ house, then loading some of the tools into the red truck.
The officers spoke to Schaffer, who allegedly told police that Mallory had asked him to move a trailer for his uncle. Schaffer allegedly told police that he and Mallory went to the site, hooked onto the trailer and drove it to Helvetia, then went to sleep. Schaffer said when he woke up the trailer and Mallory were both gone and he hadn’t seen Mallory since.
