CLEARFIELD – Two area men have been accused of stealing more than $25,000 worth of iPhones from the Walmart distribution center in Woodland where they worked.
Kyle A. Jasper, 19, of Smokerun and Jaron C. Powell, 20, of Houtzdale have been charged by Clearfield-based state police with felony theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.
Jasper and Powell waived their right to preliminary hearings Wednesday during centralized court, sending their cases to county court. Both men are free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
According to the affidavit, the investigation began in October of last year when state police met with the distribution center’s resource manager.
The manager reported that several local stores had contacted the distribution center because iPhones hadn’t been received by the stores.
Additionally, he’d been approached by an employee who had reportedly purchased an iPhone from Jasper. That employee returned the phone and provided a written statement.
In an interview Dec. 18, the employee said he worked the same shift as Jasper and Powell and watched them place several boxes of iPhones onto a conveyor that was sent to an empty trailer.
There, he said the phones were put into a bag and taken outside the distribution center where they were then split up for the defendants to sell.
In an interview March 7, another employee said Jasper and Powell placed the iPhones inside her bag and though she carried it outside, they retrieved all the phones from her.
The investigation revealed that Jasper and Powell removed a total of 21 iPhones from the distribution center with a total value of $25,200, state police said.