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Judge: 16 times is enough, thief off to jail

3 min read

Stealing a container used to collect spare change for charity will land a Sewickley man in Washington County jail for 3-to-12 months on work release so he can repay, Best of the Batch Foundation an estimated $200.

Panera Bread eateries, partner with the charitable foundation of former Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch, and Peters Township police said Michael Coyle, 34, admitted, when confronted with video surveillance footage, to placing his coat over the donation container a year ago to conceal the theft at the 4127 Washington Road store.

“Mr. Coyle has a history of committing this type of behavior since 2004,” said Assistant District Attorney Jerome Moschetta in Washington County Court Friday. “Only once was he sentenced to incarceration.”

A host of Coyle’s thefts are of record in Allegheny County, where he was placed in mental health court, “yet the problem continues,” Moschetta said.

Coyle’s attorney, Joshua Carroll, elicited testimony from his client that he lost his health insurance and was unable to afford medications such as Prozac, which he takes to ease severe depression. An admitted former drug abuser, Coyle testified he has been sober for three years. Coyle said he works as a landscaper and has held jobs almost continuously since age 14.

He also cares for his ailing grandmother, Judith Kennedy, who appeared in court to testify, with difficulty, on his behalf. “He could not get the medications he needed to take,” Kennedy said of her grandson’s motive.

“He has bad periods when (his) mental health issues come out,” Carroll told Judge Katherine B. Emery and asked her to sentence Coyle strictly to probation, or, in the alternative, electronic home monitoring.

Both the prosecution and defense made valid points, Emery said, noting, “On the other side, we see 16 convictions. What’s going to prevent Mr. Coyle from doing this again? When he gets desperate, this is what he does. Some incarceration is necessary.”

The judge allowed Coyle to delay his reporting to jail until Feb. 18 to give him time to arrange for care for Mrs. Kennedy. In addition to paying restitution, she ordered him to continue with mental health treatment.

She said Coyle, if continuing his crime spree, could find himself enmeshed in a chain of events like the one that ended tragically when Vincent M. Kelley attempted to stop a robber last year at the South Strabane Township Giant Eagle store and was shot to death. No one has been charged with either the robbery or shooting.

Batch, a Homestead native is a graduate of both Steel Valley High School and Eastern Michigan University, where he majored in criminal justice. His foundation is based in Munhall.

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