Lower Bucks Man Snatched Box With $190K, Held On $2M Bail: Police

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —A Croydon man is in custody after he was caught snatching a box containing $190,000 from the back seat of a Tesla at a gas station on Monday, police said.

Christopher Plytas, 43, of Croydon, was charged with Theft by Unlawful Taking, Theft from a Motor Vehicle, and related charges.

He was arraigned by District Justice Kevin Wagner and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $2 million bail.

Bensalem Police responded to the Conoco Gas Station, 2700 Knights Rd., at 5 p.m. Monday for the report of a theft from a vehicle in the parking lot.

Upon arrival, the victim told police that he had $190,000 in a box in the back seat of his 2017 Tesla and that someone had broken the window and stolen all of the cash while he was inside the business.

The victim is the owner of a company that owns skill machines throughout the area, and he was at that gas station servicing one of those machines when the theft occurred.

On Tuesday, Bensalem Police obtained surveillance video of the theft and identified the suspect vehicle as a white Kia Optima with front-end damage.

The man and a female passenger were in the vehicle during the theft. Utilizing surveillance cameras and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR), Bensalem Police were able to identify the vehicle's owner.

It was also found that a man by the name of Plytas was associated with the owners' address and was involved in a traffic accident in October 2023 in Bristol Township in the same white Kia Optima.

Bensalem Police obtained photographs of Plytas and identified him as the person who stole the $190,000 cash from the victim’s vehicle.

District Justice Michael Gallagher approved an arrest warrant for Plytas. Another search of the ALPR system led police to Glen Hollow Apartments in Croydon.

Police went to that location and observed the same white Kia Optima parked in the parking lot.

Undercover officers surveilled the location for more than four hours until they observed Christopher Plytas returning to his apartment in building 8 of Glen Hollow Apartments.

He was taken into custody without incident. Bensalem Police executed a search warrant on the apartment and subsequently searched the white Kia Optima.

Numerous items were seized from the car and apartment, including narcotics, paraphernalia, clothing, and US currency totaling approximately $40,000.

Bensalem Police continue to investigate the crime to determine if this was a targeted operation, identify any co-conspirators, and attempt to locate the additional money that was reported stolen.