05 December 2022- A Mercersburg man is charged with seven misdemeanors after allegedly taking coins, bills, and other items from cars in the borough. Rye William Donahue is charged with six counts of misdemeanor theft from a motor vehicle and one count of possession of a controlled substance. Donahue is behind bars after failing to post a bail of $15,000.
On December 4th around 7:30am, Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to a home on Beech Lane in the Borough of Mercersburg to reports of a man stealing from a motor vehicle. The man was described as a white man wearing a camo beanie, grey sweatshirt, camo pants, black and white shoes, and carrying a black backpack.
Upon arrival, police canvassed the area and eventually found a man matching the description given by the caller. That man was found around 2/10th of a mile away from the caller’s home, standing behind a motel and smoking a cigarette. Within arms reach of the man was allegedly a black backpack that had loose change and several bills in it in plain view. Seeing this, the man was handcuffed and ID’ed as Rye William Donahue. Donahue was allegedly confirmed as the same man that was seen stealing from cars.
A search of Donahue’s person found a camo beanie, two pocket knives, a single live .22 magnum cartridge, $30.05 in loose change, $30 in loose cash bills, and a silver wristwatch. Also found with Donahue allegedly was a small plastic bag with suspected meth in it. After being checked into PSP Chambersburg, Donahue allegedly informed police he was currently on parole and had recently been in jail. A total of six victims on Beech Lane and Findlay Drive reported stolen change and bills from their cars.
Donahue is behind bars after failing to post bail of $15,000.
Sources: Incident Number: PA 2022-1553346, Docket Number: MJ-39302-CR-0000388-2022
