Trappe Man Pockets Lost Wallet at Skippack Wawa

Judge Gary S. Silow determined in Norristown courts Thursday that Joseph Bernard Hartenstein did not take "reasonable measures to be a Good Samaritan," according to a report in the Times Herald.

Hartenstein, 21, of the 400 block of West Main Street in Trappe, reportedly found a wallet on Feb. 4 dropped by a Skippack resident at the located at 4121 Skippack Pike in Skippack. Security cameras at the Wawa caught all of the action on tape, according to the court reports.

The wallet contained identification of the victim, credit cards and $200 cash. Tapes show Hartenstein picking up the wallet, from the floor near the entrance, and pocketing into his own coat, said the story in the Herald.

On Feb. 14, police reported they questioned Hartenstein in his Trappe home, where he admitted to having the wallet, but claimed he had intended to return it, said the article. In the meantime, police reported, Hartenstein no longer had the wallet in his possession, as it was in a vehicle he sold in Bensalem, Pa.

Police accused Hartenstien with failing "to take reasonable measures to restore the property to the person entitled to have it." Silow agreed with police. Hartenstein was ordered to serve two years of probabtion, in addition to paying the victim (ower of the wallet) $351 in restitution. 

For the full story on Thursday's hearing, visit The Times Herald's site.