CLEARFIELD – The last person charged for their alleged involvement in breaking into a Pennsylvania Skills Machine and stealing over $5,400 recently appeared for court.
Kris J. Nevling, 44, of Clearfield is charged by Lawrence Township police with felony theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, plus related misdemeanor offenses.
Online court documents show Nevling waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday, sending his case to the Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas for further disposition. His bail was also modified from $100,000 monetary to unsecured.
The charges stem from a theft from a Pennsylvania Skills Machine at the BP gas station, Clearfield, on Feb. 1, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The caller, a representative from Miele Amusements, reported Feb. 2 that someone had pried open one of the store’s skills machines and cash had been stolen from inside.
At the scene, police met with the representative who was there to collect cash from the machines. He said there was a hand-written note on one machine saying it was broken.
Upon further inspection, he found the display screen had been pried open with some type of tool and the internal parts of the machine had been accessed.
He said someone had broken the internal wood, which protected the cash box, and this allowed access to the bill exchanger. He said there were only a $20 bill and a few $1 bills left.
He said he visited the store Jan. 29 and emptied the machine. He generated a report once it was operational, showing it contained around $5,000 when it was broken into.
Police made contact with an employee who provided access to security footage. Upon review, it was determined the machine had been broken into on Feb. 1, between 5 p.m. – 7:20 p.m.
At around 5:19 p.m., the footage showed two males and a female entering BP. They were identified as Nevling, Stephanie A. Mando, 42, and Daniel W. Wetzel, 36.
At 6:07 p.m., Nevling reportedly started pulling on the skills machine and dropped an object on the ground. It was picked up by Mando.
Mando was seated next to Nevling and she appeared to be acting as a “look-out,” while he attempted to break into the machine. Wetzel was also present and aware of what was happening.
At one point, Nevling reportedly used a wrench in his attempt to pry on the machine door. He was unsuccessful.
Wetzel exited the store and Nevling walked to the front while Mando saved their place at the skills machine. Nevling returned to the skills machine area at 6:18 p.m.
As he returned, he appeared to have a pry bar or similar tool in his pants. He entered the bathroom with the tool, and when he returned, Mando moved out of his seat.
Wetzel returned to the skills machine and appeared to be observant of Nevling. At 6:32 p.m., Nevling pulled the tool from his left side but appeared to be scared by customers and shoved it back into his pants.
After walking around for a short while, Nevling returned to the machine and reportedly pulled on it so hard the officer observed his weight shifting. Nevling stopped when another male entered the area.
While additional customers entered the store, Mando and Wetzel hovered over them until they left. Nevling returned to the damaged machine.
At 6:42 p.m., he walked around, returned to the machine and started to pull on the machine again while Mando acted as his lookout.
At 6:48 p.m., Nevling was reportedly observed stuffing his pockets. Then, when all three suspects went to the front of the store, a wrench was seen in Nevling’s back pocket, police said.
Nevling conversed with the clerk for around 15 minutes while Mando made trips from the store to their vehicle.
At 7:04 p.m., Nevling and Mando were seen at the broken machine again. Nevling reportedly removed items from inside with Mando as his lookout.
Nevling closed the skills machine door and Mando went back outside, and when she returned, Nevling got into the machine again. At 7:18 p.m., both entered the bathroom hallway and conversed briefly.
All three suspects then left in a Scion TC, traveling westbound on the Clearfield – Shawville Highway.
On Feb. 3, police received information from Miele Amusements regarding the theft. The total amount stolen from the machine was $5,420 and damage totaled $584, according to the affidavit.