LEBANON, Pa. — State Police have charged a Lebanon man with stealing a 2019 Mercedes E-300 from a Lebanon County auto dealer, according to a criminal complaint affidavit.
Alex Kreiser, 18, is charged with multiple counts of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, driving without a license, and fraudulent use/removal of a registration plate, State Police said.
The reported theft occurred on Oct. 25 at Metro America Auto Sales in Bethel Township, police said.
Kreiser allegedly took the car for a test drive with a dealership employee and returned it. He then looked at a second vehicle before leaving the business, police said.
At 6:48 p.m. that day, Kreiser was seen on surveillance video returning to the business in another car. The headlights of the Mercedes he'd test driven are seen briefly flashing, indicating that it had been opened remotely by key fob, police claim.
Kreider is then seen entering the vehicle and leaving the business in it, while a passenger in the vehicle he arrived in drove that car away as well, police said.
Investigators recovered the alleged stolen vehicle the next day in the area of Stover's Dam Park in Lebanon, police said. The vehicle displayed a license plate that was registered to a 2002 Volkswagen.
Three people were in the vehicle when police found it, and told investigators that Kreiser had given them the keys, according to the complaint.
In an interview with police, Kreiser allegedly admitted to taking the vehicle and identified his alleged accomplice. He said he took the vehicle's key fob without anyone at the dealership noticing, according to police.
The vehicle was valued at $27,000, police said.
