St. Clair Man Identified and Charged for Stealing Purse from Pottsville Sheetz

A St. Clair man has been charged for a purse theft last month in Pottsville.

According to Pottsville Police, on August 9th, 2023, a woman reported that her purse had been stolen from the Pottsville Sheetz and her bank card used at M&T Bank with the suspect withdrawing $500.00 in U.S. currency.

Detectives obtained video from Sheetz where the purse was stolen from, and it was discovered that the person involved had also stolen items from the store. 

After photographs were made public, Detective Krammes received information identifying the suspect as Charles Matthews, 48, of Saint Clair. 

Det. Krammes was able to positively identify the subject from both Sheetz and M&T bank as Matthews. 

As a result of this information, Corporal Jonathan Randolph completed a Criminal Complaint requesting a warrant for the arrest for Charles Matthews on the charges of Access Device Fraud (F3), Theft by Unlawful Taking (M2) and Retail Theft (S). 

On Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 Matthews was taken into custody at his residence in Saint Clair.

Matthews was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James Reiley and released on $5000.00 unsecured bail.