2 arrests in Bensalem funeral home theft

BENSALEM, Pa. - June 12, 2012 (WPVI) -- Two men are behind bars, charged with stealing wrought iron chairs from a funeral home in Bensalem, Pa.

The brazen daylight theft was caught on surveillance video at the Hoffman Funeral Home. It happened at 4:30 p.m. on June 1, 2012.

The suspects are seen pulling up in a two-tone Ford Pickup F-150 truck. The men then walk onto a porch area and, in full view of the camera, move a wrought-iron chair set into their truck.

Bensalem Police showed the video to Philadelphia Police Tuesday, and detectives were able to identify the owner of the truck.

Police then confronted 46-year-old Richard Smolda and his housemate, 22-year-old Daniel Crozier, at Smolda's home in the 4200 block of Salem Street in Philadelphia.

Police say Smolda admitted that he and Crozier stole five wrought iron chairs, then led detectives to the 4300 block of Orchard Street in Philadelphia, where they found the five stolen chairs covered by a tarp.

Smolda was awaiting arraignment Tuesday night at Bensalem Police.

Crozier was being held in Philadelphia for this case and for an outstanding warrant for parole violation.

Investigators said they, like many municipalities in the area, have been dealing with a number of metal thefts. The stolen metal is sold for pennies on the dollar as scrap metal, police said.

Anyone who recognizes the men, or the truck they were operating, can call Sergeant Richardson of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Bensalem Police Department at 215-633-3745.

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pennsylvania, bucks county, theft, local/state

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