Police arrested 28-year-old Hashim Akbar for retail theft and false identification to law enforcement after he committed a retail theft inside of the Pennsylvania Wine and Spirit Store in Richboro. Police also discovered that the Bucks County Sheriff Department had an active arrest warrant for Akbar for failing to appear to answer charges of forgery.

On Saturday, November 30, 2019, at 9:56 PM, police responded to the Wine and Spirit shop to investigate a report of a theft of a bottle of brandy. Police reviewed video surveillance and found that an African American male, who was in the company of a woman wearing a cap with the logo of a local business, concealed the brandy bottle and left the store without paying for the brandy. Through investigation, police identified the woman and her address in the Holland section of the Township.

Police went to the residence to interview the woman in hopes of identifying the man who took the bottle from the Wine and Spirit store. When police arrived and knocked on the door, the door was opened by the man seen on the store surveillance. The male was immediately uncooperative with police and refused to identify himself. After being told that he was the subject of an official police investigation, the male provided a name and date of birth to the police that later proved fictitious.

Police arrested Akbar for the retail theft and transported him to police headquarters where he was processed. The male’s fingerprints revealed his true identity as Hashim Akbar and his true date of birth. In addition to retail theft, Akbar was also charged with the crime of Providing False Information to Law Enforcement. Police also learned, through Akbar’s fingerprint check, that a warrant existed for Akbar, issued by the Bucks County Sheriff Department, for failing to appear for a court case where Akbar was charged with Forgery.

Akbar was processed on the Northampton Township criminal charges, arraigned by Magisterial District Justice MDJ Benz, and remanded to Bucks County Correctional Facility on $15,000 bail. Sheriff’s officers made arrangements to enforce their warrant with the prison.