Police Make Arrests, Investigate Fraud Cases In Newtown Borough

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Newtown Borough Police Department investigated several incidents of fraud and made three notable arrests during the month of January.

During his monthly police report, Chief James Sabath reported the arrest of a 36-year-old Horsham man for a disturbance at a borough bar.

Police also took a 23-year-old man into custody on a mental health warrant for threatening to harm himself.

But the most significant arrest came later in the month when police arrested a Philadelphia woman on Jan. 30 who was taking the bus to Newtown, getting off at the CVS store and then stealing thousands of dollars in beauty supplies before catching the bus back to the city.

CVS notified police in April 2024 that after conducting an inventory they discovered that
$1600 worth of cosmetics were missing. Police said the store subsequently reviewed its surveillance video and found evidence that a retail theft had occurred on April 10, 2024.

Police launched an investigation and found surveillance video showing a woman exiting a SEPTA bus and then entering the CVS at about 2:30 p.m. on April 10. In the video, the woman can be seen placing items in a black bag and in her cargo pants, police said.

Police said the woman left the business without paying and got back onto the SEPTA bus.

“She was wanted by about 10 different departments,” said Chief Sabath. “Now she’s in Bucks County Prison.”

Police also handled several cases of fraud including a spearfishing scheme. “Someone tried to get a hold of a payroll account and divert some of the funds to another account,” said the chief.

A Barclay Court resident also reported a fraud in which a Verizon account was opened in their name without authorization.

Police also responded with the fire department and PECO to an underground electrical fire at South State Street and Washington Avenue that plunged portions of the business district into the dark during the first weekend in February.

“It was sort of like a science fiction movie or something coming out of the ground,” said Mayor John Burke of the orange flames erupting from a manhole cover in the sidewalk.

“I want to thank the fire department and the police department for responding. Scott’s All Season was there as well. More importantly, I’d like to thank the businesses for their patience and their
creativity. It was not a good situation for them on a weekend. They did a great job of re-creating themselves for the couple of days they were out of power," said the mayor.

"I’d also like to thank PECO for coming out and working on the problem," said Burke. "They came out in very cold temperatures and were crawling in and out of a very tight space.”