City man charged with stealing items from Target, threatening to shoot store employees has case proceed to county court
A Lancaster City man charged with stealing items from a Manheim Township Target store, then threatening to shoot an employee when they tried to stop him will have his case proceed to county court following a preliminary hearing last month.
Judge Courtney Monson ruled Oct. 27 that the case of Mateen Ahmad Ibn Brown, of the 800 block of Union Street, could proceed to the Court of Common Pleas on charges of robbery, retail theft, terroristic threats and fraudulent use of a registration plate.
Brown, 21, is accused of concealing more than $170 worth of earbuds and contraceptives and then attempting to leave the Target in the 1500 block of Fruitville Pike without paying for them the morning of Sept. 29.
A Target asset protection officer testified to seeing Brown take the items out of their packaging and concealing them in his pockets shortly before 11:30 a.m.
When the officer confronted Brown in the store’s exit vestibule he denied taking any merchandise and stated multiple times that he had a gun, one saying that he would shoot the employee, the officer testified.
The officer then saw Brown flee the store with the items and drive away in a vehicle with no license plate, he told the court. Another employee had called 911 during the confrontation.
Though the officer told the court that theft suspects are not typically allowed to leave the store with stolen items, he made an exception due to a threat being made to his safety.
After Brown left the store the officer told the court he found empty packages of merchandise in the locations where he had seen Brown concealing the items.
Pennsylvania State Police were able to identify Brown by searching for vehicles matching the description provided by the victim. When police responded to Brown’s residence the following morning they observed the same vehicle parked about 130 feet from his home, still without a license plate.
Investigators believe Brown had removed the vehicle’s license plate to conceal his identity while committing the theft.
Brown is currently free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
Manheim Township Police Officer Michael Stough filed the charges.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
