CLEARFIELD – A Bellefonte man has been accused of the February robbery of a senior citizen, according to Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr.
Shaw identified the defendant as Christopher James Handte, 26, of Bellefonte. He is currently an inmate at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
Trooper William Mostyn of the Pennsylvania State Police, Clearfield barracks, filed a criminal complaint against Handte. Handte was charged with aggravated assault, F1; robbery, F1; kidnapping, F1; burglary, F2; arson, F3; criminal mischief, F3; theft by unlawful taking, F3; receiving stolen property, F3; unlawful restraint, M1; false imprisonment, M2; recklessly endangering another person, M2; simple assault, M2; access device fraud, M2; and harassment, S.
According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 20, Trooper Matthew Gray of the Pennsylvania State Police, Clearfield barracks, was dispatched to the parking lot of a church for a report about a truck being on fire
Police determined that the truck was owned by a local business. An employee of the business told Gray that the truck was equipped with a GPS tracking device. Upon investigation state police allegedly determined that someone had gained access to the garage of the local business and stolen the truck.
Upon review of the travel report generated by the tracking device, Gray was able to determine when the truck was stolen and where it was driven to. According to the travel report, the truck had stopped at several area businesses and locations along Deer Creek Road late at night Feb. 19 and into the early hours of Feb. 20.
Surveillance video was recovered from the local businesses. Additionally, various items that were allegedly stolen from the garage of the local business were located along Deer Creek Road, according to the criminal complaint.
On Feb. 21, Mostyn was assigned to investigate an alleged robbery at a local residence. According to the criminal complaint, the victim received a knock at her door from an unknown male around 7 p.m. Feb. 20.
The male was allegedly in need of gas, and the victim invited him into her residence. The victim allowed the male to use her bathroom and phone while she made him a cup of tea.
The male asked for duct tape for his boots. However, he allegedly used it to tape the victim’s hands behind her back. When the victim was able to free her hands, it allegedly angered the male. He then allegedly taped the victim to the kitchen sink and struck her twice in the face.
After asking the victim if she had any ATM cards, the male allegedly left her residence, taking her vehicle, purse and the glass and tea cup he drank from.
After the male fled from the scene, the victim allegedly remained taped to the kitchen sink. She allegedly remained taped up until the following day at approximately 4 p.m. when she was discovered there. The victim was then transported to UPMC Altoona for treatment of her injuries and hypothermia.
On Feb. 23, the victim’s vehicle was located and within it was a ceramic mug. The mug was tested for DNA. Later that same day, troopers located a makeshift camp in the woods, according to the criminal complaint.
Upon investigation state police determined that many of the items at the camp belonged to another victim. This victim was interviewed and alleged that the items found had been stolen from his garage several days earlier. These items were also sent to the lab for DNA testing.
Shaw stated that on Monday Handte was scheduled to be arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Jerome Nevling. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11. Handte remains incarcerated in Centre County on unrelated charges.
Shaw noted that Handte was identified early on in the investigation as a potential suspect. He stated that, “I know the residents of Graham Township were concerned over this terrible event, but until we had evidence to support a prosecution, criminal charges couldn’t be filed.”
Shaw explained that the Pennsylvania State Police DNA lab is extremely busy, and it can take several months for lab results to be completed. Shaw stated that the charges were filed as soon as they had the results from the lab.
He stated that this case was too important, and it was critical to get it right because they only have one chance to prosecute the case.
Shaw further explained that Handte has been incarcerated in Centre County since this incident occurred. “Law enforcement was confident that Handte would be unable to victimize other residents in the community while the investigation was ongoing,” he stated.
Shaw stated that he was very pleased with the investigative efforts made by Mostyn and the troopers of the Pennsylvania State Police, Clearfield barracks.
Shaw stated that these types of brutal crimes will not be tolerated and continued efforts will be made to prosecute those responsible for this types of crime.
Anyone with knowledge of a crime is asked to call Clearfield County Crime Stoppers at 800-376-4700. All calls to Crime Stoppers are confidential.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted by visiting the Clearfield County District Attorney Web site at “www.ClearfieldDA.org” and selecting “Report A Crime.”