Alleged potato thief caught in Muncy

Muncy, Pa. — A man allegedly wrote on a pharmacy window, stole a hanging plant, and took a sack of potatoes from a local super market.

Thomas Dwight Howe, 34, of Elizabethtown, arrived at the Weis Market in Muncy at the end of May holding a Redd's Wicked alcoholic beverage, according to Trooper Taylor Arnold. Howe then left his beverage on ledge at the building's exterior before entering the store.

Howe walked into the store and brought a bag of loose potatoes and a loaf of bread to the self-check out, looked around, and walked out with the potatoes, wrote Arnold.

Howe allegedly walked by the pharmacy while leaving, stopping to write on the window a second time, according to the complaint. The pharmacy had a sign in the window explaining that it was closed due to being understaffed, Arnold wrote in the affidavit.

According to Arnold, Howe’s entire trip through the store was caught on surveillance video provided to investigators. Howe allegedly wrote “you could pay people more that did something if…you…get rid of managers that don’t do anything…too many chiefs not enough Indians” on the pharmacy window.

Howe retrieved his beverage before getting back into his truck and driving to the rear of the building, Arnold said. Howe allegedly took a hanging flower rack before driving away.

Howe is being charged with theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief, retail theft, and public drunkenness. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at the beginning of August.

Docket sheet