Washington man charged in two thefts
A Washington man was arraigned Tuesday on theft charges stemming from separate incidents, one in South Strabane Township and the other in Canton Township.
Joseph E. Buddenhagen, 32, of 605 McCarrell Ave., was charged by South Strabane police with 11 counts of forgery and one count each of theft and receiving stolen property. His father, Dennis Buddenhagen, told township police Monday his son was forging and cashing checks in his name from his business, Buddco Transmissions Inc., 1129 Maple Ave.
The elder Buddenhagen told police his son would never had been permitted to have the checks belonging to the business. Dennis Buddenhagen gave police copies of the checks reportedly written to Joseph Buddenhagen and signed by Dennis Buddenhagen. The 11 checks were cashed between Jan. 24 and Monday, totaling $1,220.
State police charged him with theft after he allegedly stole a laptop computer from his former girlfriend’s home in Canton Sept. 28 and sold it at a pawn shop.
He was arraigned on both cases before District Judge Jay Weller who set bond on the South Strabane charges at $25,000 and $5,000 on the state police charge. Buddenhagen was taken to Washington County jail.