Walnutport man charged with rape, stealing cars

A Walnutport man has been charged with rape and various other charges following a series of crimes that spanned three counties over the course of three days.

Thad Starner, 46, faces charges in six cases, including four in Monroe County and two in Northampton County.

Starner is currently incarcerated in the Monroe County Correctional Facility in lieu of $163,000 bail total. Court records list his addresses as the Gateway Motel in Wind Gap and a home in Walnutport.

The spree began early Feb. 21 when Starner got a ride around 1 a.m. to the Gateway Motel.

While at the motel, Starner climbed through a window into a woman’s room and raped her, Pennsylvania State Police said.

The woman said multiple items, including cellphones, $100 cash, a machete and a knife were missing from her home that totaled about $2,230, which Starner allegedly stole.

She then traveled to St. Luke’s Monroe Campus for a sexual assault examination.

Troopers said Starner came back to the motel at around 4 p.m. and forced a different woman to go with him, told her that she was not allowed to leave, and took her cellphone to prevent her from contacting the police.

A man came by to see if the woman was home and found her sitting inside the apartment. She told him that he needed to leave.

The man said Starner saw him and followed him out into the parking lot. The woman ran and hid in her room, stating that she was afraid of Starner and that she feared for her life.

The man said he was speaking on his cellphone when Starner approached him, shouting that he better not be calling the police.

The man said Starner then “jumped him,” and he fell to the ground, at which time Starner climbed on top of him, bit his nose and punched him in his right eye.

The man said he was able to get away from Starner and ran to his motel room, where he locked himself inside. Starner then fled the scene in a stolen red 2000 Taurus before police arrived.

Early in the morning on Feb. 22, Starner got a ride to a Uni-mart on Route 115 in Chestnuthill Township.

Starner walked into the store, came out and walked toward a running Kia Forte, got in and drove away down Jonas Road, troopers said.

On Feb. 23, Nazareth Borough Police Department was dispatched to an apartment in Nazareth for an armed robbery in progress.

The victim said she was awakened by Starner, who is her ex-boyfriend, entering her residence and screaming her name. She said he was out of control and she believed he was under the influence of methamphetamine.

After asking Starner to leave or she would call police, Starner broke her cellphone and told her, “You’re not calling the police on me.”

The victim said Starner then blocked the only entrance to the residence, and she said she felt like a “hostage” in her own home.

In addition, she said Starner was actively waving around a handgun in front of her 4-year-old child inside the residence.

The victim said Starner then asked to use her gray 2001 Ford Taurus. When she refused, he put the gun to her head and threatened to kill her.

She gave him the keys, and he fled.

Police officers were able to locate a 2015 Kia Forte on South Green Street in Nazareth. A gun was found in the car.

Officers were later notified that Starner’s cousin had reported that Starner stole a .357 revolver from his residence.

Starner was eventually arrested the night of Feb. 23 in Allentown.

On Monday, the sexual assault victim told troopers she later found several of her items on top of the mountain behind the motel, but that they were damaged and burned.