Sheriff’s intern in jail after joy riding in cruiser

A Schuylkill County sheriff’s department intern, vetted and trusted, stunned his boss Wednesday when he stole one of the department’s cars to cruise around Penn State University’s Hazleton campus.

Bryan Bascombe, 23, of Brooklyn, New York, sits in the county jail on $20,000 bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Feb. 14 before District Judge David J. Rossi of Tremont.

“That morning, he had taken the state police test. Then he came into the courthouse that afternoon and ended up swiping the keys,” said Sheriff Joseph G. Groody.

Bascombe, who on Oct. 18, 2017, was approved by the county for the unpaid internship, “was a very good intern,” Groody said.

“He served three years in the Army. Polite, professional. An excellent worker, good student (at Penn State Hazleton), good background check. I was shocked,” he said.

Bascombe was a student at Penn State Hazleton.

Pottsville Police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky said that at around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, officers were dispatched to the courthouse about a stolen sheriff’s department vehicle.

They learned that the county Communications Center had been contacted by police from Penn State’s Hazleton campus asking why a sheriff’s vehicle was there.

After determining that no one had been authorized to be in that area at that time with a county car, a sheriff’s department employee told police that Bascombe was an active intern with their department and he was also a student at the campus.

Police checked the department’s cars and found one missing. It was after hours, and the sheriff’s department employees had all gone for the day.

Police confirmed that Bascombe had been inside the sheriff’s department.

Bascombe was interviewed by Pottsville police officers Paul Olson and Braden Jones, and admitted to taking the keys without anyone’s knowledge and then taking the vehicle back to campus with him at around 4:15 p.m.

After driving around the campus and chatting with some students while in the car, Bascombe decided to return the car to the courthouse and get his own car.

Officer Jones charged Bascombe with felony theft of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, and theft (of the key).

“It’s a sad situation. Something like this could ruin his future,” Groody said. “I’m just glad no one got hurt.”