Whitehall Borough Police Briefs (April 26-May 2)

Identity Theft, Part I

On April 27 at approximately 2:49 p.m., a resident from West Barlind Drive contacted the to report that an unknown person had used his identity to purchase unauthorized items and to open unauthorized accounts. The unknown person used the West Barlind resident’s information to order electronic equipment and had it shipped to a Florida location.

The resident has contacted his credit-card company to inform it of the transactions, and that company has reimbursed him.

Whitehall police advised the resident to also contact major credit bureaus to put a fraud alert on his account.

Identity Theft, Part II

On April 28 at approximately 3:05 p.m., a resident from the 4900 block of Brownsville Road contacted Whitehall police to report a case of access-device fraud. The Brownsville resident said that her ATM card had been used to make a number of unauthorized electronic charges sometime between April 15 and April 22.

A representative from the woman’s bank was the one that contacted her about the suspicious charges. That bank has reimbursed her.

Whitehall police advised the resident to also contact major credit bureaus to put a fraud alert on her account.

Hit and Run

On May 2 at approximately 12:41 p.m., a resident from the 5300 block of Spring Valley Drive told Whitehall police officers that she was a victim of someone leaving the scene of an accident near her home. When officers reported to that resident’s location, they discovered that her vehicle’s driver’s side mirror was damaged while parked on the street near her home. The officers also noticed scratches to her car’s paintwork.

Police searched the area and found a gold-colored mirror lying in the vicinity of the victim’s vehicle. Police believe that the mirror may belong to a mid-1990s Chevrolet, possibly a Cavalier model, and that that mirror’s vehicle could have caused the accident.

Anyone with information regarding the accident is asked to contact Whitehall police at 412-884-1100.

Marijuana

On May 2 at approximately 3:58 p.m., Whitehall police officers stopped a vehicle for failing to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of South Passage Drive and Caste Drive.

While speaking with the driver of the vehicle in question, the officer reported detecting a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle.

The officers reported eventually discovering a small amount of marijuana in possession of both occupants of the vehicle and charged the driver—Krista Sunseri, 20, of 137 Hollowhaven Drive in —and the passenger—James Priore, 21, of 1444 Bellaire Place in the Brookline neighborhood of Pittsburgh—with possession of a controlled substance for personal use.

Police are also charging Sunseri with failure to stop at a stop sign.