Retired police trooper accused of stealing from retail stores

By Erika Stanish

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    WILKINS TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A retired Pennsylvania State Police trooper is facing felony charges after allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from retail stores.

State police said the first incident happened in April at the Home Depot in Wilkins Township. According to police paperwork, John Tamewitz would order items online and then show up at the store and use the online receipt to leave the store with other items that were never paid for.

“Tamewitz would then surreptitiously remove the Home Depot online order identifying sticker and place it in an inconspicuous location within the store. Tamewitz would then select additional merchandise held for sale at Home Depot, affix his online order documents/sticker on the merchandise to give Home Depot the false impression that the items were part of an already-paid-for online order, pass all points of checkout without paying for the additional items and leave the store with unpaid for, stolen, merchandise” police said.

Corporal John Tamewitz retired in 2015 after working with the Pennsylvania State Police for 22 years.

“It’s appalling. We need these police officers to enforce the law, not break it,” said Jim Botti, a local contractor.

Police said Tamewitz stole from the Hempfield Township Home Depot at least once and the Wilkins Twp location at least twice over the last year, totaling over $2,000 in stolen merchandise.

“It’s really shocking to find out that something like that would even happen. We need to get integrity back in this country,” Botti said.

KDKA-TV talked on Friday to Tamewitz’s attorney, who said he hopes for a fair case.

“You wouldn’t be interviewing me if John was retired from working at Pittsburgh Glass or U.S. Steel. So, you know, again, we just want to be treated fairly,” said Michael Ferguson, the attorney representing Tamewitz. “My client is, he’s a good man. John’s almost 60 years old. He’s never been in trouble in his life. He is a very devoted father and grandfather. And really, all we want to have happen in this case is to be treated fairly and to be treated like anyone else would in a similar circumstance.”

Botti said he sees people stealing from stores like Home Depot all the time and believes it’s affecting his bottom line.

“I can tell you, as a contractor, the price of everything has doubled since 2021, as far as my supplies I need. And theft has a lot to do with it,” Botti said. “I’ve seen guys walk out the door with a bunch of power tools, and they don’t even stop them. … It absolutely affects the price, especially in a supply place like this.”

Tamewitz faces felony charges for retail theft, theft by deception and receiving stolen property. He was arraigned Friday morning and released on an unsecured bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14. 2025.

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