An East Petersburg Borough man charged with stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of items from more than 40 vehicles he broke into will have his case proceed to county court after waiving his preliminary hearing. 

Logan Anthony Mesteller, of the 2400 block of Franklin Drive, waived his preliminary hearing before Judge Courtney Monson on April 27 on 41 counts of theft from a motor vehicle, 40 counts of loitering and prowling at nighttime and a single count of receiving stolen property.

Mesteller, 27, is accused of stealing items from 42 different vehicles in various locations across Manheim Township, often during the late evening or early morning hours on at least five different occasions between mid-February and early April.

Items Mesteller stole included clothes, bank cards, gift cards, cash, lottery tickets, fishing gear, medications and electronics. In some instances, Mesteller rummaged through the contents of vehicles but took nothing. 

One incident in late March saw Mesteller steal a box containing more than $1,800 in premium whiskies from a vehicle parked along Addison Place. Another incident that occurred the same night saw Mesteller steal $5,600 worth of items from a vehicle parked on Thatcher Lane, including two wallets, a backpack and earbuds. 

Other incidents saw items scattered inside and around the vehicles after Mesteller had rummaged through them. In some cases, items that were taken from vehicles were found nearby. 

Police were able to link the incidents to one another using residential surveillance footage that captured Mesteller, often wearing dark clothes, stealing from vehicles in numerous locations. Mesteller’s unique gait, with his left foot pointed slightly inward as he walked, was noticed in each of the videos. 

An analysis of cellphone data showed that a phone number traced back to Mesteller was in the area of each of the thefts around the time they would have occurred. 

Pictures of Mesteller on social media showed him wearing the same clothes he was seen wearing in the surveillance footage. Police recovered the clothes and several of the stolen items when they searched Mesteller’s residence in early April.

Mesteller remains in Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $15,000 bail.

Manheim Township Police Det. Nicholas Fritz filed the charges.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.