Cases Move Forward Against Men Arrested in Connection with Stolen Ohio Vehicle Found in Frenchcreek Township

| September 29, 2018

FRENCHCREEK TWP., Pa. (EYT) – The charges against two men jailed in connection with a stolen vehicle found abandoned in the middle of a road in Frenchcreek Township moved forward on Wednesday.

According to court documents, a preliminary hearing was held at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 26, in Venango County Central Court for 25-year-old Gerald William McClellan III, of Akron, Ohio, and 20-year-old Nathaniel David Schroeder, of Seville, Ohio.

Both individuals face a third-degree felony charge of Receiving Stolen Property.

The charge against McClellan was waived for court, and the charge against Schroeder was held for court.

The cases have been transferred to the Venango County Court of Common Pleas.

McClellan and Schroeder remain lodged in the Venango County Jail on $25,000 monetary bail each.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, around 9:03 p.m. on Friday, September 21, Sargeant Heller, of the Polk Borough Police Department, received a call from Venango County 9-1-1 about a car that was parked in the middle of Raymilton Road in Frenchcreek Township, Venango County.

Sargeant Heller and two Pennsylvania State Police Troopers traveled to the scene and found a black BMW sitting in the eastbound lane of Raymilton Road with its headlights on. The complaint notes there was no license plate on the vehicle, and no one was found in the immediate area.

A search of the vehicle’s VIN revealed the car had been reported stolen, which was later confirmed by the Akron, Ohio Police Department.

The state troopers checked the area an asked if anyone knew anything about the car but weren’t successful finding any additional information.

According to the complaint, a passerby stated that he lived just up the road, and around 7:30 p.m., he had seen two men walking up Raymilton Road near Greenlee Road heading toward State Route 62. The man reported that the taller of the two men was wearing yellow and the other man was wearing dark clothing.

Around 10:00 p.m., Sargeant Heller received a call from a resident in the Union Town Heights area stating there were two men in the area behaving strangely. The resident reported that the men said that their vehicle had broken down around Mercer, and they needed to charge their phone. He said he allowed them to use his cell phone.

The complaint states that the description the resident gave of the two men was similar to the description of the two men seen walking from the area where the stolen BMW was found earlier.

Franklin Police Department were dispatched to the area of Union Town Heights, and the two men in question were located.

Sargeant Heller proceeded to the area to question the men, while the state troopers remained with the stolen car until it could be towed.

According to the complaint, the men, later identified as Gerald William McClellan III and Nathaniel David Schroeder, “weren’t able to get their stories straight” concerning how they got to the area. One said they walked from the Grove City area, and the other said they got a ride from Akron and were dropped off there.

Sargeant Heller also spoke to the Akron Police Department who advised that the BMW was reported stolen around 4:55 p.m. that day and that witnesses reported that two males, in their 20s, took the vehicle from an Akron body shop.

McClellan and Schroeder were arraigned on Saturday, September 22, in Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey’s office.


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