NORRISTOWN — A woman from Philadelphia was incarcerated for unlawfully entering a shed at an Upper Dublin residence and taking items such as bicycles and tools, with the intention of depriving the homeowner of those items.
Dana Barbra Reichart, 35, residing in the 1300 block of Barnett Street, was given an 11½ to 23 months jail sentence in Montgomery County Court after admitting guilt to theft, trespassing, and possession of methamphetamine in connection with the events in June 2022.
Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea deal in the case, also instructed Reichart to complete three years’ probation after parole, meaning she will be under court supervision for approximately five years.
The judge stated that Reichart should receive substance use disorder supervision while serving the sentence. She was also prohibited from contacting the victim.
The investigation started at about 10:10 a.m. on June 19, 2022, when Upper Dublin police were called to a residence in the 1000 block of Creek Drive for a report of a burglary. The homeowner provided police with video surveillance footage from a Ring camera that recorded an individual opening his enclosed fence around 4:10 a.m. and gaining access to the deck of his home, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Dublin Detective Michael Lebby and Upper Dublin Police Sergeant Andrew Lavenberg.
The suspect covered herself with a gray blanket while looking into the residence through a sliding glass door and was also seen in front of the door to an attached shed at the rear of the home. Subsequently, investigators found recent damage to the shed door, suggesting that someone had forced it open, as alleged by Lebby and Lavenberg.
The homeowner reported that two bicycles, a circular saw, a cordless drill, a gas generator, and other tools were taken from the shed.
When investigators searched the neighborhood, they found that the suspect had hidden the gas generator under a gray blanket in a wooded area near the victim's home. Additional video surveillance showed the female suspect walking away from the area with items in her hands, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators concluded that the suspect had also packaged numerous items taken from the shed and left them there, indicating she may have intended to come back to retrieve them at a later date.
At 1:48 a.m. on June 21, the victim contacted township police to report that he could see a female on his Ring cameras, and it appeared to be the same person who had broken into the shed on June 19. A nearby resident also called the police to report a suspicious individual on their property, according to court documents.
Police then stopped a vehicle driven by Reichart as it was leaving the area. In plain sight, officers spotted methamphetamine pipes on the driver’s side floorboard, as well as a gray blanket that was identical to the one used by the suspect in the break-in on June 19, according to court documents.
A study of the video camera footage confirmed that Reichart was the person who trespassed onto the property and broke into the shed in a positive way.
When authorities searched Reichart's car, they discovered seven grams of methamphetamine and the gray blanket she used during the June 19 break-in.
Reichart had other charges like burglary, receiving stolen property, loitering, prowling at night and possession of drug paraphernalia dropped as part of the plea agreement.
