One of the two thieves who broke into the Metro PCS Cell Phone store in Bristol Borough just under a year ago pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen property late last month.
John Mathis, 32 of Fairless Hills agreed to the offer made by prosecutors the same day his alleged partner in crime Ashley Hicks, of Philadelphia was arrested on a Bucks County warrant in Philadelphia a little more than a week before her 33rd birthday of August 10. She was released in April of 2022 following a bail reduction hearing and had absconded from authorities since May of this year.
The duo were arrested on October 6th after breaking into the popular cell phone retailer on the 200 block of Bristol Pike. What they weren’t aware of for the one hour of time after the break in was the devices they had stolen had tracking devices installed for this kind of situation.
Police on scene observed the front door to the cell phone store was ajar and forced open. Shortly thereafter police were alerted one of the stolen items from Metro were being tracked by 3SI, which provides action and intelligence to apprehend suspects through robust partnerships with law enforcement agencies in the region, according to court records.
Police were notified by the digital tracking company that the phones were moving south on 1-95. Law enforcement in Bensalem and Philadelphia were given a flash notice from the Bucks County Dispatch of the vehicle description, and registration, according to court records.
Police with guidance from the security firm continued to track the suspects via the stolen merchandise on I-95 and were subsequently notified Philadelphia Police from the 15th District had taken the suspects into custody via a car stop.
Bristol Borough Detective William Davis and officer Dino Lepore met with a trio of Philadelphia Police officers on the 6200 block of Torresdale Avenue, and to identify the suspects and the stolen; cash, tablets and cell phones.
Less than a month later Mathis was released after a bail reduction hearing.
On the same day he agreed to the guilty plea for the cell phone store theft he also agreed to plead guilty to fleeing an officer, reckless driving and related traffic offenses for case filed in February of this year by Middletown Township Police. Mathis as in the cell phone shop theft case.
Additionally Mathis has open cases in Lower Southampton (January 2023) for theft related offenses; an open case in Bristol Township for (9/2022) in which he was formally charged (December of 2022) with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of accidents involving death or injury, multiple DUI counts and a slew of related alleged crimes. Those cases have yet to be fully adjudicated.
Sentencing was deferred by the court to a later date for the cell phone store case.
Hicks has four open Court of Common Pleas cases currently active. She is scheduled to appear on August 29th for all of her open cases which according to court records are theft related criminal activities. Online court records seem to indicate guilty pleas are expected. She was remanded back to Bucks County Prison where she will awaits her next court dates.
Ashley Hicks
Credit: Bucks County Sheriff’s Office
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