PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP, Pa. (EYT) – A Jefferson County Dollar General store manager is facing felony theft charges after state police say she failed to deposit more than $2,300.00 from the store and was later seen on surveillance video removing the cash from the safe.
Court documents indicate that Punxsutawney-based Pennsylvania State Police filed criminal charges against 44-year-old Rebecca Jean Thomas, of Punxsutawney, on August 13, 2025, in Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak’s office.
According to court records, Thomas was arraigned at 8:30 a.m. on August 13, 2025, on the following charges in front of Judge Bazylak:
- Theft by Unlawful Taking – Movable Property, Felony 3
- Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Funds, Felony 3
According to the criminal complaint, investigators said surveillance footage showed Thomas removing a bank deposit pouch containing $2,307.55 from the safe at the Dollar General store in Pine Creek Township, Jefferson County, on March 31, 2025. Police reported that the money never arrived at the local bank in Brookville Borough, where it was supposed to be deposited.
The complaint states that Dollar General’s regional asset protection manager told police that a missing deposit notice from the bank first alerted district supervisors to the issue. During a follow-up review, the company discovered another deposit from April 10, 2025, totaling $1,201.71, had also not been received, though cameras at the store were not functioning at that time because of a power outage, according to the complaint.
Investigators said that after district management confronted Thomas about the missing deposit during a phone call on April 15, 2025, security footage reportedly showed her removing a sheet from the store’s deposit log and throwing it away, the complaint continues.
Police notes that Thomas was interviewed multiple times about the missing money. During one interview, she reportedly admitted leaving the store with the deposit bag but maintained she believed she placed it in the bank’s night drop. In another interview, she reportedly told police she could not remember what happened that day, citing personal issues, and said she would “hold herself accountable for the loss of the money,” according to the complaint.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 9, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., before Judge Bazylak.
