A year later, 2 more charged in Tidioute burglary
More than a year after the April 2015 burglary of a Tidioute business, two more people have been charged in the incident.
Thomas Degrove May Jr., 34, and Morgan Christine Molek, 20, both of 11 Kinnear St., Tidioute, were charged with an identical set of crimes for their involvement in the theft of $3,200 from Evans Market: conspiracy – burglary – not adapted for overnight accommodation, no person present; conspiracy – theft by unlawful taking; and conspiracy – criminal mischief. Those charges are a first-degree felony, third-degree felony, and second-degree misdemeanor, respectively.
In January, charges of burglary – overnight accommodation, no person present; conspiracy – burglary; criminal trespass; conspiracy – criminal trespass; theft by unlawful taking; conspiracy – theft by unlawful taking; criminal mischief; and conspiracy – criminal mischief; were filed against both Devan J. Reese, 24, Franklin, and Mikael Lee Thomas, 37, Camp Hill. Six of those charges are felonies.
According to court documents filed by Warren-based state police, in May 2015, the owner of the market, Evan Sahli, contacted state police to report the burglary of his business, the theft of $3,200 and the damage of the glass rear door. Police said during the initial investigation it was determined that the money had been inside the business’s deep freezer, inside a money bag, and inside of box of frozen food.
Police said the person who stole the money was either an employee of the business and/or received information from an employee about the exact location of the money.
According to police, a continued investigation “resulted in persons being arrested for the crime, and those persons pleading to the charges and providing details into how the crime occurred, who was present during the commission of the crime, what was taken and how and who obtained/provided the information regarding the exact location of the money in the deep freezer.”
Police said the name “Thomas” was provided as a result of the interviews with the persons that committed the burglary and that “Thomas” had a girlfriend who worked at Evans Market “and both ‘Thomas’ and this girlfriend had sold the information regarding the location of the money, where the night drop key was and other details of the business.”
Four days after the burglary, police said, the persons who had committed the burglary went to a house on Kinnear Street in Tidioute and paid “Thomas” $400 for the information “as this was previously agreed as the price for the information.”
Police said they continued to investigate the cell phones, vehicles and other personal items of the three persons involved to obtain more information. According to court documents, a hand-drawn map of Tidioute was provided by one of the three who committed the burglary and included a detailed drawing and description of the residence of the person “who provided the ‘inside’ information. The person who committed the burglary and provided the map had been at the residence of “Thomas” on at least two occasions, police said.
Police said the investigation found that Molek worked at Evans Market at the time of the burglary and that she and May were living together at 11 Kinnear St.
The residence was “the address provided by the persons that committed the burglary” and matched “that of the provided map,” according to police.
According to court documents, the next court action for Reese is change of plea court on Sept. 6. May is listed as awaiting a preliminary hearing.
Dockets for both Molek and Thomas are listed as inactive, and indicate both are awaiting preliminary hearings.



