WILLIAMSPORT – A man who is currently an inmate in a county prison in another case has admitted stealing pieces of heavy equipment out of state and then selling them in Pennsylvania.
Joseph John Waldron III, 64, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. Middle District Court to a charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods.
The charge to which he pleaded guilty involved seven pieces of equipment but Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin said the total loss was $688,000.
Assistant public defender Thomas Thorton explained that his client was responsible for the theft of additional equipment for which he would have to make restitution.
The charge to which Waldron pleaded guilty involved this equipment that was all stolen in 2021:
- John Deere tractor and mower were stolen Aug. 14 in Big Flats. New York, and delivered to addresses in Morris, Tioga County, and Warminster, Bucks County, respectively.
- Kubota excavator was stolen on Oct. 23 in Pennington, New Jersey, and delivered to a Huntingdon Valley address.
- Kubota backhoe and a trailer were stolen on Oct. 29, in New Castle, Delaware, and delivered to the same address in Coopersburg, Lehigh County.
- Kubota Zero Turn mower and an Exmark Zero Turn mower were stolen on Dec. 4 from Westminster, Maryland, and both were delivered to an address in Perkasie, Bucks County.
Waldron, who was detained on the federal charge, is awaiting trial in Berks County on charges of theft, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
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