A 23-year-old Middletown resident was charged for allegedly stealing $140,483 in specialty equipment near Mount Grenta in January, including a mobile mapping computer and metal detector.
On Jan. 2, South Londonderry Township Police were dispatched to the area of 500 Mount Gretna Road for a reported theft call. A Tetra Tech employee told police that specialized equipment was stolen from a temporary storage trailer located on the parking lot of State Game Lands 145, located west of Mount Gretna.
The storage trailer was missing a combination lock, which employees told police was securing the container since around Thanksgiving last year.
“The complainant reported multiple items were stolen valued at around $150,000,” police said in court documents. “Among these items was a Kaarta SLAM Stencil 2 and a White’s MX7 Metal Detector.”
Tetra Tech is a consulting and engineering services firm based in Pasadena, California, which provides services that include water, environment and resource management. A Kaarta SLAM Stencil 2 is a mobile mapping device.
On Jan.3 police responded to call at the Capitol City Pawn Shop reguarding the sale of the Kaarta SLAM Stencil 2 and a White’s MX7 Metal Detector. The serial numbers found matched with the devices that were stolen.
An employee identified Ivan Lee Rodgers as the person who attempted to sell the devices, providing video and receipts of the transaction along with a photo of Rodger’s Pennsylvania Identification Card. The employee said Rodgers indicated he had located the items while cleaning a storage unit, and tried to sell them for $4,000.
On Jan. 13, police tried to contact Rodgers and asked him to come in for an interview related to the stolen items from Tetra Tech.
“Ivan Lee Rodgers told (police) that he did not steal any items from Mount Gretna,” court documents state, adding that Rodgers said he found the items he pawned in a dumpster.
Police obtained a search warrant on Jan. 12 for Rodger’s phone records between Nov. 23, 2023 and Jan. 3, 2024. These records allegedly showed that Rodgers was receiving cell service six times at the crime scene. Rodger’s phone records also showed he spent a total of 40 minutes on the mornings of Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 at the crime scene before heading directly back to his Middletown residence, according to court documents.
A review of the call records showed Rodgers placed two calls on Dec. 31 to Goody’s Unlimited of Carlisle, a buy-sell-trade store.
Rodgers has been charged with theft by unlawful taking. A preliminary hearing is scheduled before Lebanon County Magisterial District Judge David Warner Jr. at 8 a.m. July 18.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Man charged with stealing $140,000 equipment near Mt. Gretna, PA
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