Butler man charged in connection to thefts
BUTLER TWP — A Butler man has been charged in two separate retail theft cases after allegedly stealing electronics in an effort to satisfy his crack cocaine habit.
Christopher A. Gratzinger, 30, of East Brady Street, is facing charges of receiving stolen property, attempted theft by deception and retail theft in connection with the thefts — one of which occurred on July 19, when he allegedly stole a laptop computer from the vehicle of a Chicora woman. The second occurred a day later, on July 20, when Gratzinger was caught on camera wheeling a 40-inch television out of Walmart in Butler Township without paying for it.
In the Walmart theft, police say, Gratzinger told officers that he later traded the television to “the crack man (named) D or JR,” on Butler's south side.
Gratzinger's girlfriend, identified in court documents as Lindsay N. Maples, 29, of Butler, has also been charged with receiving stolen property and attempted theft by deception, according to court filings.
A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.
