PORT CARBON - Saint Clair police Patrolman Frank DiMarco testified Wednesday that he came upon something strange early one February morning when checking out Matto Cycle in East Norwegian Township.
"I immediately noticed multiple fresh footprints in the snow," DiMarco testified during the preliminary hearing for four Berks County men charged with trying to burgle the business.
At the end of the 75-minute hearing, Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko ruled prosecutors had presented enough evidence to support all charges against Hector Garcia-Santiago, 21, Phillip R. Rivera, 21, and Pedro J. Sanchez-Laporte, 31, all of Reading, and Harold Renovales-Aguirre, 21, of Laureldale.
"There is a lot of circumstantial evidence" against the quartet, Plachko said.
The charges, which are the same against each of the four, include three counts of conspiracy, two of receiving stolen property and one each of attempted burglary, attempted criminal trespass, attempted theft and possessing instrument of crime.
State police at Schuylkill Haven alleged the four men conspired to break into Matto Cycle, 634 Port Carbon-Saint Clair Highway, in the early morning hours of Feb. 13.
DiMarco testified he was driving from Port Carbon to Saint Clair on the road when he noticed a U-Haul truck parked in front of Don's Auto Sales and Service, which is next to Matto Cycle. Even though it was snowing, the truck had no snow on it, he said.
"I thought it was strange being there," said DiMarco, who added that there was a screwdriver in the ignition.
He said he received a report from the Schuylkill County Communications Center that the truck had been stolen, went to Matto Cycle, saw the footprints in the snow and called for backup.
"I didn't want to leave the building unattended," DiMarco said.
He said he heard noises in the woods and saw two men running to Don's. Those two got in a BMW and headed toward Saint Clair, DiMarco said.
When cross-examined by Assistant Public Defender Paul G. Domalakes, Rivera's lawyer, DiMarco said he had never seen either of the men in the BMW.
Kevin Davenport, an East Norwegian Township worker, testified he followed the BMW, which spun out twice and stopped at Eagle Hill Road and Port Carbon-Saint Clair Highway.
DiMarco said he and other police officers later found Garcia-Santiago and Sanchez-Laporte at the Turkey Hill Minit Market in Port Carbon.
"They were wearing heavy clothing. Their pants were wet and their feet were wet. We looked at their shoes," DiMarco said.
"Would you say they were consistent with the tracks you were following?" Assistant District Attorney John Fegley asked DiMarco.
"Yes," DiMarco answered.
State police Cpl. Rahn Richards also saw Garcia-Santiago and Sanchez-Laporte at the Turkey Hill.
"They were both wet ... like they had been out in the weather for quite some time," Richards testified about Garcia-Santiago and Sanchez-Laporte. "Their pants were dripping wet."
When cross-examined by James M. Polyak, Reading, Sanchez-Laporte's lawyer, Richards said he had been outside in the storm for some time that evening but still was not as wet as either Garcia-Santiago or Sanchez-Laporte.
Richards said he thought Garcia-Santiago and Sanchez-Laporte were being evasive when talking to him.
"It's the body language and tone of voice" that made him think so, he told Robert J. Kirwan II, Reading, Garcia-Santiago's lawyer, on cross-examination.
State police Trooper Robert Kluge Jr., the prosecuting officer, testified the four men resemble in height, weight and build those seen on surveillance videos from Don's.
When cross-examined by Julie A. Werdt, Pottsville, Renovales-Aguirre's lawyer, Kluge said he did not find any tools on her client but did find a screwdriver in the BMW.