String of burglaries hit local gas stations

By Anya Tikka
PIKE COUNTY — A string of burglaries that took place Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 12 and 13, at Pike and Monroe Counties gas stations are believed to have been carried out by the same man, police say.
He’s described as “a white male, approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds. He was wearing a black Northface jacket, black hood, black facial covering, and black gloves with skeleton bones on the top of the left hand, and black pants and sneakers.”
Two of the burglaries took place in Dingman Township.
The first one happened early morning, at approximately 3:10 a.m. on Tuesday, when the Mirabito Gas Station’s front entry glass door glass was smashed, and money stolen before the suspect fled. The station is located at 665 Route 739.
The second Dingman burglary took place on the same morning, a little later. At 4:40 a.m., the Exxon gas station at 250 on Route 6, resulted in a smashed front door, and the theft of cigarettes and lottery tickets.
The third burglary in Pike County occurred on Tuesday in Delaware Township at Dingmans Best Fuel located at 1596 Route 739, although the time is unknown. Nothing was taken, although there was damage to the cash register.
The string of burglaries started earlier in Monroe County.
On Monday, Dec. 12, at about 11:26 p.m., the Gulf gas station’s front glass door was smashed and the thief made away with lottery tickets. The station is at located at 98 Broad Street in Delaware Water Gap Borough.
And the following early Tuesday morning — the same morning as the Pike County burglaries that took place a little later in the day — the Express gas station at 2579 Milford Rd. in Smithfield Township had a smashed glass front door, and lottery tickets stolen. The incident occurred at 1:35 a.m.
Ten minutes later, at 1:45 a.m., the thief appears to have made his way to the A OK gas station located at 691 Ressica Falls Rd., Middle Smithfield Township, where the front glass door was smashed, but nothing taken from the store.
All three Monroe County burglaries alerted State Troopers in the area.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police in Blooming Grove at 570-226-5718 or Swiftwater at 570-839-7701.