Police Recover Stolen Vehicle, Keys from Caste Village, Fitness 19

Authorities didn't have to look too far to find a car that was stolen in late May from the Caste Village parking lot, according to Whitehall Borough police Chief Donald R. Dolfi.

The vehicle was taken from a woman who was a customer at Caste's Fitness 19 gym. The woman had stored her wallet and her car keys in an unlocked locker at the gym on May 21, and upon completing her workout that day, discovered that the items were missing, Dolfi said. And when she went to the parking lot, she discovered that her car was missing, as well.

Whitehall police entered the stolen items into the National Crime Information Center system, and a short time later, the victim's credit card company notified her that her account was accessed at a Rite Aid along Brownsville Road in Pittsburgh's Carrick neighborhood.

Police received a description of the card user and the vehicle that he was driving, Dolfi said, and ultimately, after viewing surveillance video from the gym, developed a suspect in the case.

Then, on May 31, Pittsburgh police stopped the vehicle in the same general area of Brownsville and found that the occupant, according to Dolfi, was the same person from the video—Joseph Richard Sperling, 33, of 435 Shady Ave. in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood.

After his arrest, Sperling admitted to taking the vehicle, Dolfi said. He is being charged with automobile theft and with credit card forgery and is being held at the Allegheny County Jail.