Charges filed over phone taken from waiting room

A Coaldale man had his cellphone stolen on June 11 after he left it on a table in his doctor's waiting room.

Tamaqua Police were called to 233 W. Broad St. at 9:45 a.m. and met with Shawn Chromiak, who wanted to report the stolen phone. He had been sitting in the waiting room before his appointment. When he was called to the examination room, he left the phone on a table next the chair where he had been sitting. When he returned to the waiting room, the phone was gone.

After interviewing Chromiak and office employees, officers learned that April McGeehan, 27, of 223 Center St., Tamaqua, had been in the office at the time of the theft. She had placed a backpack on the chair where Chromiak had been sitting, then became involved in a dispute over an insurance issue. When she left the office, there was a cellphone in her hand.

McGeehan was contacted and said she picked up the phone by mistake, as she had the same model. She agreed to return the phone to the police station and was told to bring her similar phone for confirmation of her mistakenly taking the phone. Instead, she had a friend return the stolen phone, which was returned to its owner.

The officer contacted McGeehan on June 18, reminding her to bring her phone to the station for comparison, or criminal charges would be filed on June 22. She offered to bring the phone in on June 22 as she was going away for the weekend. She did go the police station on that Monday, with two cellphones. Neither was an LG Vigor, which was the model taken from the waiting room.

She was charged with theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.