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  • February 14, 2025
Woman accused of stealing a stationary SUV in Hatfield and driving it to Limerick to appear in court next week

Woman accused of stealing a stationary SUV in Hatfield and driving it to Limerick to appear in court next week

A Hatfield Township woman who had a preliminary hearing this week on charges of keying cars in a parking lot and stealing Shop Rite sushiis scheduled to be arraigned next week in Montgomery County District Court on theft charges for allegedly stealing a car idling outside a beer store.

Amy Melissa Sowers, 26, of the 800 block of Forty Foot Road, also will be charged with receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, stemming from a Sept. 9 incident outside Beer Etc. in Hatfield Township. All charges were waived at a preliminary hearing in October.

Police accused her of stealing an idling SUV and driving it to Limerick Township.

On September 9 at 6:24 p.m., police responded to the store at 1540 Cowpath Road for a report of auto theft of a white Chevrolet Tahoe.

Upon arrival, the owner of the SUV told police he stopped in front of the beer store and went inside to make a purchase, leaving the truck running with the key inside, police said. When he returned, the Chevy was gone, police said.

A bulletin with the truck’s Virginia license plate was sent to local law enforcement, who flagged the SUV westbound on Ridge Pike near Germantown Pike at 6:29 p.m., according to an affidavit.

Giant Food Store security cameras showed the Chevrolet pulling up in front of the store and putting on its hazards at 5:55 p.m., police said. Sowers then walked through the parking lot, approached the idling Chevrolet and got into the driver’s seat, police allege.

The truck then travels south toward Orvilla Road.

According to the complaint, at 6:59 p.m., Limerick police said they were attempting to stop Sowers in the stolen truck. She was found on Airport Road near Ridge Pike and later taken into custody, police said.

But wait – there’s more.

Sowers is also accused by Hatfield police of stranding two cars in the Lowe’s parking lot on Aug. 10, causing more than $7,000 in damage, and then stealing sushi and a Coke from Shop Rite. According to court records, a warrant was issued on Nov. 4 on charges of misdemeanor criminal mischief by damaging property, shoplifting and receiving stolen property.

Police said Sowers’ distinctive arm tattoo led authorities to link her to the crimes through video surveillance.

On Aug. 10 at 11:53 a.m., police responded to the hardware store at 160 Forty Foot Road for a complaint of vandalism to a car, police said. The victim told police he parked his red Honda Accord in the parking lot at 10:30 a.m., and when he returned an hour later, there was a large scratch on the entire passenger side of the Honda, police said.

Police said estimated damage to the Honda was $2,866.

Security camera footage from Lowe’s allegedly showed Sowers walking to the parking lot from the area of ​​Forty Foot and Welsh Roads at 10:48 a.m. Two minutes later, Sowers reportedly passed the Honda, walking close to the passenger side, and appears to hit the car. Honda.

Sowers then allegedly drove east through the parking lot, passing a white Toyota Corolla three rows away from the Honda, and appeared to touch the Toyota as she walked past.

Sowers then walked into Shop Rite, where video showed her leaving the store with sushi and a bottle of Coke without paying, police said.

A still image of Sowers was sent to area police for identification, with Towamencin Township police identifying the suspect as Sowers, who had a tattoo on her inner forearm that matched a tattoo on the suspect in the video, according to the affidavit.

At 2:01 p.m., police received a call from the Corolla’s owner reporting that his car had suffered a deep scratch on the passenger side of the car, with damage estimated at $4,209, police said.

On September 30 at 4 p.m., police spoke with Sowers at her home, where they recognized her tattoo from the surveillance videos, according to the complaint.

Sowers was arrested for shoplifting in Oklahoma in 2019, investigators said.

According to court records, Sowers is free on $50,000 unsecured bail in the car theft case and on $10,000 unsecured bail in the vandalism case.

All suspects and accused persons are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.