Video cameras helped lead state police to two Philadelphia women who allegedly stole items from an employee's purse at the Comfort Inn, 1959 E. Third St., on Sunday morning.
Arrested a short time after the 10:30 a.m. theft were Rickia Shanay Stevenson, 24, and Aunjanee Janeva Allen, 19, both of whom have been charged with theft and receiving stolen property.
Allen faces additional charges of identity theft and access device fraud.
The employee had left her purse in a cleaning cart, police said, adding that motel video recorded both women allegedly taking the purse and then soon returning it to the cart.
Police allege Allen and Stevenson stole $30, a debit card and a pair of earphones from the purse.
Store video at the nearby Sheetz records Allen using the victim's debit card twice, police said. Allen was apprehended near an apartment complex on Country Club Drive while Steven was caught in the same neighborhood, hiding in a wooded area, police said.
Following their arraignments before District Judge Allen P. Page III, Stevenson was committed to the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $1,800 bail while Allen was jailed in lieu of $1,000 bail.
