Arrest In Turfing Of Langhorne Soccer Fields (ICYMI)

LANGHORNE, PA — A 23-year-old man from Middletown has been charged with doing thousands of dollars worth of damage to local soccer fields after "turfing" them in his pickup truck.

Josef Szentjobi, 23, was arrested by Middletown Township Police on charges of felony criminal mischief and institutional vandalism, according to court documents.

Police say it was Szentjobi who drove his white Toyota pickup truck onto the fields of Hulmeville Soccer Club on Oct. 4. The fields, at 501 Trenton Rd. in Langhorne, are next to Herbert Hoover Elementary School and are leased by the club from Neshaminy School District.

According to Middletown Police, the turfing did more than $5,700 in damage to the fields. Club director Scott Glass told Patch after the incident that it had made the fields unusable by teams with the nonprofit club.

Students at Herbert Hoover also use the fields for field day activities, according to the school district.

Investigators used photos captured by security cameras to identify the truck and its owner, police said. According to a police affidavit, Szentjobi initially admitted driving his Toyota Tacoma onto the fields, but told investigators a story that didn't match the evidence they had collected.