Crime & Safety
Police: Borough Man Steals iPad from Neighboring Boutique
Device's activated signal leads police to McDonald's in Stroudsburg, where man confesses to theft, court records say.
An activated signal from an Apple iPad "mini" reported stolen from a Nazareth wedding boutique led police to Monroe County and a man who lives in the same building as the boutique, knows the boutique owner and confessed to stealing the item, court records say.
Police found Lamont Scott, 26, at the McDonald's in Stroudsburg, where he was taken into custody Sunday by a Stroud Area Police officer, the records say.
Scott gave verbal and written confessions that he stole the iPad, valued at $485, from Your One & Only Wedding Boutique, 139 S. Main St. in Nazareth, the records say. Scott lives in the same building as the boutique, but has an address of 141 S. Main St.
A criminal complaint filed by Nazareth Patrolman Stephen Schleig said he was dispatched to the boutique at 12:35 p.m. Sunday and told by the owner that someone entered the business between 4pm Saturday and 12:10 p.m. Sunday and stole the iPad.
The owner later contacted Schleig and said the iPad's signal was activated and was coming from the Stroudsburg McDonald's. Schleig contacted Stroud Regional Officer Richard Gehring, who found the iPad on Scott, the complaint said.
Scott was arraigned around 7 Sunday night by on-duty District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez of Bethlehem on charges of theft by unlawful taking; theft of property lost, mislaid or delivered by mistake, and receiving stolen property.
He was released on $15,000 unsecured bail.
The wedding boutique is a new business in Nazareth, having had its grand opening on Nov. 14, according to a story in The Morning Call.
Stroudsburg, where Scott was found, was his hometown in October 2007, when he pleaded guilty to charges of possessing instruments of crime and simple assault in a Bethlehem Township case, according to online court records.
In late December 2012, his address was listed as East Stroudsburg when he waived a preliminary hearing on a charge of driving under the influence out of Moore Township. The online records provide no further information on that case.
