Man arrested for steel ingot thefts
A Finleyville man who allegedly stole about 2,000 pounds of steel ingots worth roughly $600 was arrested Friday morning by North Strabane Township poilce.
Craig Dean Koteles, 33, of 6231 Route 88 in Finleyville, was charged with theft, simple assault, recklessly endangerment and reckless driving. He was released on $10,000 bond after being arraigned by District Judge Jay Weller.
An employee at Ametek Metal, 1085 Route 519, Eighty Four, called police when he witnessed two men loading the 250-pound steel ingots into the back of a white car at about 3:30 a.m. North Strabane Detective John Wybranowski said an employee confronted the men during the theft. In his hurry to flee, Koteles allegedly struck the Ametek employee with his vehicle, injuring the man’s right knee. The employee was not treated by medical staff.
North Strabane police notified Peters Township police to be on the lookout for the vehicle and Peters police conducted a traffic stop a short time later.
Although Amatek employees reported eight steel ingots missing and two suspects, police found Koteles alone with five ingots in the trunk of his sedan.