Third Man Wanted in Hatfield Tasing, Robbery Turns Himself In

The Philadelphia man wanted by Hatfield Township Police for his alleged involvement in the Tasering and robbery of a man inside a vehicle on Feb. 24 turned himself into police Wednesday.

Richard Lee Stroud, 20, of a third floor apartment on the 600 block of North 43^rd Street, faces charges of  felony robbery with immediate serious bodily injury, felony robbery with taking property by force, simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment, felony theft, felony receiving stolen property, felony criminal use of a cell phone, possessing an instrument of crime, and felony use or possession of an electric or electronic incapacitation device, police said. Stroud also faces felony criminal conspiracy charges on all those offenses, police said.

Stroud was arraigned by District Judge Andrea Duffy in Montgomeryville, who set bail at $125,000 cash, police said.

Stroud has a preliminary hearing set for March 15 at 1:30 p.m., along with his alleged co-conspirators Jeremiah White and Sarah Nodecker.

Hatfield Township Police have already arrested and charged White and Nodecker for their alleged involvement in the crime. White, 19, is from Pottstown and Sarah Nodecker, 19, resides in Montgomery Township.

Stroud was sentenced to a maximum of 23 months in prison after pleading guilty in May 2011 to a felony burglary charge and sentenced to a maximum of 13 months for pleading guilty to a felony criminal conspiracy to commit burglary charge in Hatfield Township from December 2010, according to court records. He was also given four years' probation. Stroud was given 159 days for time served.

Charges of felony criminal trespassing, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor loitering and prowling offenses and criminal conspiracy charges on all those offenses were not sought by prosecutors.

Stroud and White were two of three Emfinger was Tasered by police as he allegedly fled the scene. Emfinger has yet to head to trial at Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

According to a release from the Hatfield Police, officers responded to a call on Feb. 24 at 5:51 p.m. in the area of Bethlehem Pike and Trewigtown Road. There they met with a victim of a robbery who had called them when his attempt to sell a used car failed.

The victim told police he met three individuals in the area, in an attempt to sell them his car. When he gave the three a test drive, he was "suddenly shocked with a stun gun-type weapon and punched numerous times by the male occupants of the car," according to police reports. "The victim was robbed of his cash during the course of the assault."

After he was assaulted, the victim was pulled from the car's backseat and left by the side of the road. The stolen car was later spotted and pulled over in Montgomery Township by police in that jurisdiction, according to police.

"The victim positively identified two of the individuals in this car who were involved in the assault and robbery," said the report.

As a result, White, 19, was charged with two counts of felony robbery - inflicting serious bodily injury, two counts of misdemeanor simple assault, misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person, harassment, felony theft, felony receiving stolen property, felony criminal use of a communications facility, and conspiracy to all charges listed, except the two simple assault charges, according to court records.

White is headed to trial on a car theft incident and accident in Hatfield Township in January.

He was just donning our web pages barely a month ago when his Popeye's receipt and cell phone got him busted for the alleged car theft, according to police reports.

Sarah Nodecker, 19, of Montgomery Township, also in the vehicle, was charged with conspiracy to commit the following: felony robbery - inflicting immediate serious bodily injury, felony robbery - taking property from another by force, misdemeanor simple assault, misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person, harassment, felony theft, felony receiving stolen property and felony criminal use of a communication facility, according to court records.