High School Thefts Lead to Guilty Plea

A man caught entered a guilty plea in Lehigh County court Monday.

Joseph Sanchez, 31, was arrested June 8 at the high school and charged with theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, trespassing and public drunkenness.

According to the arrest affidavit, an Upper Saucon police officer assigned to the high school was contacted by a teacher who reported a "strange older male moving around the vehicles near the tennis courts."

The arresting officer observed the following: “The male, subsequently identified as [Sanchez], had a cloth held over his face. He then pushed the front passenger window [of a parked vehicle] down and entered the inside compartment with his upper torso. [Sanchez] was then observed to remove himself from the vehicle, while continuing to hold the cloth over his face with one hand holding a cell phone he removed from the vehicle in the other.”

Sanchez was arrested and two cell phones, an iPod, a cigarette lighter and a ring of car keys were found in his possession.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 14 at 9:30 am.