PORT CARBON - One of two charges against a Minersville man accused of stealing an AK-47 assault rifle last year was held over for court following a preliminary hearing Thursday before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko.
Plachko determined the Commonwealth presented enough evidence to prove a prima facie case against Michael A. Eckert, 20, of 201 N. Fourth St., on a charge of theft by unlawful taking, a felony offense.
The judge dismissed a second charge of receiving stolen property.
Minersville police Patrolman Jeffrey Bowers also charged Amy Heffner, 38, whose last known address was 470 Lewis St., with the same offenses.
Bowers originally charged Eckert with receiving stolen property and firearms not to be carried without a license. Those charges were withdrawn before Eckert's original preliminary hearing Dec. 16 in order to allow the filing of the theft charge and also because of more information provided by witnesses.
Eckert was charged following an investigation by Bowers, Minersville Police Chief Michael Combs and Pottsville police into the Oct. 14 theft of weapons and silver coins owned by Joseph Thompson from his 470 Lewis St. home.
Thompson, hospitalized at the time, suspected his live-in girlfriend, Heffner, stole his Norinco AK-47 semi-automatic rifle and a Colt 38-calibre pistol as well as about $2,000 in silver coins, Bowers said.
The investigation revealed that on Oct. 12, Heffner tried to sell the AK-47 to a confidential informant for $200 along with several other weapons including antique rifles, Bowers said.
Days later, Bowers said the informant reported contacting Heffner regarding the AK-47 and being told by the woman that she tried to sell it to Eckert since they first spoke and that Heffner took the gun without paying her for it.
Heffner told the informant she wanted to sell the gun to pay her rent if she was able to get it back from Eckert, Bowers said.
Then, several days later, Bowers said Eckert contacted the informant looking for heroin. It was then the informant asked Eckert about the weapon.
Bowers said Eckert told the informant he took the AK-47 from Heffner with no intention of paying her and that he wanted sell it or trade it for heroin.
On Oct. 28 Bowers said an arrangement was made to have the informant buy the weapon from Eckert. The informant then drove Eckert to a home on Old Llewellyn Road where police Chief Michael Combs was watching.
Eckert entered the home and exited with the AK-47 wrapped in a white towel, placed it in the back seat and the informant began to drive back to Minersville, Bowers said.
Bowers said he initiated a traffic stop in the unit block of South Third Street and found Eckert as a passenger and the stolen AK-47 weapon with a 30-round banana clip in the back seat still wrapped in a white towel.
Eckert was taken to the borough police station and read his Miranda Rights after which he admitted getting the weapon from Amy Heffner, then Thompson's girlfriend, with the intention of selling it for $200.