Alleged Hatfield Ice Locker Thieves Head to Trial

The rash of thefts from lockers at Hatfield Ice World allegedly conducted by two Bucks County men cooled off when detectives traced online transactions of the stolen items.

Now, Thomas Yuknus, 21, of Doylestown, and Richard Keczely, 21, of Chalfont, head to trial following a preliminary hearing in Montgomeryville District Court last month on charges of theft, forgery and credit card fraud,

Keczely was a former employee of Hatfield Ice World, police said in an affidavit.

Yuknus, of the 100 block of West Ashland Street, and Keczely, of the unit block of Citadel Circle in Chalfont, are each charged with one felony count of theft, a felony count of receiving stolen property, six counts of misdemeanor access device fraud, and two counts of misdemeanor forgery, according to court records.

Police said the pair used or attempted to use two credit cards for eight transactions either online or in retail stores.

On Oct. 13, 2012, at 7:46 p.m., Hatfield Township Police investigated two reported thefts at Hatfield Ice World, police said.

One victim reported his black 32GB iPhone 4, valued at $399, was taken from his property in a locker while he played a hockey game, police said. 

A second victim reported to police that his black iPod Touch, valued at $299, was taken from his locker while he played a hockey game, police said.

On Nov. 6, 2012, at 11:42 a.m., Hatfield Township Police investigated a third reported theft at Hatfield Ice World. This time, a woman reported her white iPhone 4, valued at $400, was stolen from her locker during a hockey game, according to an affidavit.

On Feb. 5, 2013, at 8:05 p.m., Hatfield Township Police investigated three more thefts at the ice hockey facility on County Line Road.

One victim reported his black iPhone 5, valued at $500, was taken from his pants pocket, which was in a locker, while he played hockey, police said. A second victim told police his black iPod Touch, valued at $450, was also stolen from his pants pocket, which was secured in a locker during a hockey game, police said.

A third victim reported his black iPod Touch, valued at $200, was stolen from his pants pocket, which was in his locker during a hockey game, police said.

On Feb. 10, 2013, at 6:16 p.m., Hatfield Township Police responded a seventh time to Hatfield Ice World for a reported theft.

This time, a man reported that his MasterCard, a $150 watch and $40 in cash had been stolen from his bag inside a locker, police said.

Two days later, the man reported to police that his MasterCard had been used or attempted to be used without his permission at four locations between 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., police said:

• Wawa, Easton Road and Street Road, Warrington Township, no loss.
• Home Depot, Easton Road, Warrington Township, no loss.
• Lukoil, County Line Road and Route 202, New Britain Township, two transactions for $30.56.
• Sunoco, Easton Road and Street Road, Warrington Township, three transactions for $136.06.

On Feb. 26, 2013, at 6:34 p.m., Hatfield Township Police responded yet again to Hatfield Ice World for a reported theft. In this incident, an iPhone 4S, valued at $200, was taken from a locker, police said.

On March 3, 2013, at 7:48 p.m., Hatfield Township Police investigated another theft at Hatfield Ice World. This time, a man reported his iPhone 4S, his Pennsylvania driver's license, his PNC Visa credit card and his Chase credit card were stolen from his bag inside a locker, police said.

The next day, Hatfield Township Police responded to Hatfield Ice World for another theft from a locker, according to an affidavit.

A woman reported that her 14-year-old son's white iPhone 4, valued at $200, was taken from a locker, police said.

That same day, the man whose credit card was stolen March 3 reported to police that his Chase credit card had been used without his permission to buy a $297 cordless drill from Home Depot on Horsham Road in Montgomery Township, police said.

Hatfield Township Police detectives obtained video surveillance from the Lukoil in New Britain, Home Depot stores in Warrington and Montgomery townships, and the Wawa in Warrington Township, according to the affidavit.

Detectives were able to identify two white males allegedly using the stolen Chase credit card and another credit card as Yuknus and Keczely, police said.

On March 22, detectives interviewed Keczely, who allegedly gave police a written statement admitting to the use of one of the stolen credit cards on several occasions on Feb. 10, 2013, according to the affidavit.

Keczely allegedly told police that Yuknus gave him the credit card, and he knew it was stolen, police said.

On March 3, 2013, Yuknus allegedly bought a cordless hammer drill at the Montgomery Township Home Depot using the stolen Chase credit card allegedly given to him by Keczely, Keczely told police.

Keczely told police that Yuknus allegedly had permission to use the Chase credit card, police said. Police obtained Keczely's cell phone number, police said.

On April 2, Yuknus was interviewed by detectives. Yuknus allegedly gave a written statement admitting to stealing the Chase credit card on March 3, 2013, police said.

Yuknus told police he gave the credit card to Keczely for buying a cordless drill from Home Depot, according to the affidavit. Yuknus told police he did not have the cardholder's permission to take the card or use it, police said.

Yuknus further told police that on Feb. 10 he drove Keczely to Hatfield Ice World, and Keczely then entered the facility, police said.

Yuknus told police that Keczely came back to the car with a stolen MasterCard, a watch and cash, according to the affidavit.

Yuknus told police the Keczely has previously sold items on Craigslist and believed Keczely may have sold the drill, according to the affidavit.

On April 5, detectives searched Craigslist and found a listing for a white iPhone 4S 16G being sold allegedly with Keczely's cell phone number, according to the affidavit.

The listing was posted March 5, 2013 on "JLA Forums," which is a site displaying products for sale associated with eBay and Craigslist, police said. 

On April 8, Detective Thomas Starner obtained a search warrant on transaction records associated with Keczely's phone number, police said. On April 9, Starner received a transaction record for Craigslist for March 4, 2013 at 10:53 p.m., showing a listing for a white iPhone 4S being sold with Keczely's number, police said.

Police said the iPhone was similar to the one stolen March 4, 2013.

On April 9, detectives re-interviewed Keczely concerning the theft investigation.

Keczely told police that he and Yuknus allegedly stole the items from Hatfield Ice World, from October 2012 to March 2013, according to the affidavit.

Keczely told police that he once worked at Hatfield Ice World, according to the affidavit. He said he knew there were no cameras in the locker room, and that he sat in the car while Yuknus went into Hatfield Ice World, police said. He said he did not want to get recognized by employees, police said.

Keczely allegedly admitted to helping Yuknus post the items to Craigslist, police said.