BENSALEM, PA – A 56-year-old man accused of smashing through storefronts with a pickup truck during a series of overnight burglaries across multiple Pennsylvania counties has been arrested following an extensive regional investigation, Bensalem Police announced.
The crime spree came to light after officers responded on December 2 at 7:26 a.m. to Bob Nolan’s Auto Service at 2464 Bristol Pike, where a break-in had occurred hours earlier. Surveillance footage showed a dark Chevy Silverado ramming the shop’s glass door around 12:34 a.m., shattering the entrance before the suspect crawled through, stole the cash register, and fled.
Police said similar burglaries had been reported around the same time in Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester Counties, each involving the same vehicle methodically used to smash through glass doors. Investigators soon identified the suspect as Richard Sturts, 56, who already had two outstanding warrants—one from Warrington Township Police for fleeing and eluding and another from the Bucks County Probation and Parole Department.
Bensalem detectives entered the Silverado’s license plate into the Automated License Plate Reader system. On December 18, officers were alerted that the truck had entered the township. They located the unoccupied vehicle near the Cornwells Train Station Park and Ride on Station Avenue and later found Sturts walking nearby. He was arrested without incident.
During questioning, police said Sturts admitted to driving the Silverado seen on surveillance during the Bensalem burglary and other related crimes in the region. He was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, and related offenses. District Justice Mark Douple set his bail at 10 percent of $150,000, and Sturts was remanded to Bucks County Prison.
Investigators said additional charges from other jurisdictions are expected. Bensalem Police credited the Tredyffrin Township Police Department and other agencies for their assistance in the investigation.