6 suspects wanted by police after 4 Frenchies stolen from Dover home
CRIME

Police charge Lewes man with multiple thefts of tools

Brittany Horn
The News Journal

State police arrested a Lewes man Friday for stealing multiple tools from unlocked vehicles in the Long Neck, Lewes and Rehoboth area in the past month.

Richard A. Rausch Jr., 41 of Lewes, was charged with burglary, 17 counts of theft, criminal mischief and nine counts of criminal trespass after entering vehicles, stealing tools, saws and chainsaws and rummaging through belongings in unlocked vehicles often in parking lots of Home Depot, the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store and K-mart, Sgt. Richard Bratz said.

In most cases, Rausch stole the tools from vehicles and then attempted to re-sell them to construction workers often nearby, Bratz said.

Troopers first responded to the theft of a Hilti power drill and a Hilti laser measurement tool in a Lowe’s parking lot on June 24, Bratz said.

About a week and a half later, a report of a white Hyundai Accent whose driver was selling used power tools to construction workers in a development at Torrey Pines Place in the Villages of Red Mill Pond North prompted trooper response on July 8, he added.

On July 15, a man, later identified as Rausch and driving the same vehicle, was attempting to sell a chop saw at a construction site near Lewes Crossing at Beaver Dam Road, Bratz said.

Rausch approached an employee to sell the tool, but was told he would have to go through the employee’s boss and promptly fled the scene, Bratz added.

About a week later, a contractor contacted police about a white man in a Hyundai Accent who attempted to sell tools to his employees at a contruction side near the Coastal Club in Lewes, Bratz said.

On the same day, troopers received a tip from a man who said several tools were stolen from his home over the past few months, Bratz said. He told police on July 24 he believed the man was Rausch, he added.

Another theft occurred on July 30 in the parking lot of a Wawa in Long Neck, where Rausch was seen pulling up behind a repair man’s truck, Bratz said. The repair man later realized a Makita circular saw and a Makita cordless screw gun, valued at $550, were missing from the rear bed of his truck, he added.

At about 10 a.m. Friday, witnesses reported a white Hyundai Accent enter the Lowe’s parking lot in Lewes with a driver matching the description of Rausch, Bratz said.

He was seen pulling up next to white Ford F350 with equipment in the bed of the truck, grabbing a Stihl chop-saw valued at $800 from the truck and throwing it in the rear seat of his vehicle before leaving the Lowes, Bratz said.

Troopers were notified right away and stopped the vehicle nearby on Shady Road, he said. The man driving the vehicle was Rausch and he was immediately taken into custody, Bratz added.

A Stihl chop-saw, Milwaukee sawzall and a Ritchie yellow jacket refrigeration service tool set were found inside his car, Bratz said.

Rausch was also wanted after failing to appear for Kent County Court of Common Pleas on traffic charges and Sussex County Court of Common Pleas on drug charges.

Lacking, $25,109 bail, he was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution near Georgetown.

Several other tools, including a sawzall and a refrigeration service tool kit, were also recovered, but police do not know who they belong to. Anyone with information should contact Troop 7 at (302) 644-5020 or Cpl. B. Haupt at (302) 703-3286.

Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.