Two Men Charged With Theft, Allegedly Rummage Through Vehicles

Two men, from Quakertown and Emmaus, were charged with theft from a motor vehicle and underage drinking after leaving a party and rummaging through vehicles on Kings Highway, taking a pack of cigarettes, two lottery tickets valued at $6, and service records along with insurance information, according to a criminal complaint.

State Police were dispatched to Kings Highway South in Lower Milford Township, responding to a report of a vehicle being entered by two men on May 26 around 4:43 am. They also were told the men had fled.

Officers said they observed a vehicle on the highway and stopped abruptly in the driveway of a nearby residence.

According to the complaint:

Andrew Kozik, 18, and Anthony Schantz Bolton, 19, were found in the vehicle. A strong odor of alcohol was coming from it.

When questioned, Kozik told officers he and the other man were coming from a friend’s house after spending the night and had just awakened. He appeared agitated and continuously asked officers why he was being detained.

Kozik was verbally aggressive and Breathalyzer tests on both men tested positive for alcohol.

But Adam Williams, who lives at the residence, told officers the men had not stayed the night. He said Kozik and Bolton told him they would be coming to his house and that he should leave the door unlocked. Williams, forgetting to unlock the door, had fallen asleep.

Kozik, seeing that Bolton was speaking with the officers, began to approach him but was advised to leave. Bolton, asking to provide a statement, was then taken to state police Fogelsville.

Bolton, waiving his Miranda rights, told officers the two were at a party drinking and left around 4 am. Kozik pulled into a driveway on Kings Highway, wanting to see if the cars were unlocked. He claimed he had only looked inside, keeping his hands wrapped in his shirt to avoid fingerprints, while Kozik had searched the vehicles.

A witness, driven to the location, claimed that the men's vehicle looked like the one fleeing the scene. He told officers that he awoke to his dogs barking, saw two men in his vehicle and that two lottery tickets -- valued at $4 and $2 -- were stolen, while two other vehicles had been rifled through. Another witness said his vehicle’s instruction manual, insurance papers and service records were taken.

Officers said shoeprints from Kozik and Bolton appeared similar to those found near the vehicles. Their shoes were taken into evidence.

Kozik and Bolton were charged with theft from a motor vehicle, criminal conspiracy and underage drinking.