Quick-thinking teen helps police nab jewelry thief in Moon Township

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Police said a quick-thinking teenager used her cellphone to help police catch a jewelry thief.

Investigators said 17-year-old Amy Hinch and her mother, Terri Hinch, were pulling into their driveway when they noticed a strange car parked at their Shaffer Road home.

Shortly after, the girl and her mother witnessed a man, later identified by police as Brian James Flesher, leaving their home with a box full of jewelry.

"My daughter said, 'Hey man,' and he just said, 'Let me leave,'" Terri Hinch said.

Officers said Amy snapped a photo of Flesher's license plate with her cellphone camera and sent it to investigators. Police caught up with Flesher less than an hour later in Brighton Heights.

"I guess I watch too many crime dramas," Amy said when asked why she thought to take a picture.

Channel 11's Renee Kaminksi reported that Flesher's was parked near the intersection of California Avenue and Bonaventure Street on the North Side.

"That photograph made the car," Moon Township Police Chief Leo McCarthy said.

Police said he still had the jewelry box in the car with him when he was arrested.

"I am so proud of her. She's so good," Terri Hinch said about her daughter. "I'm so very proud."

Investigators said Flesher told them he came to Moon Township to buy drugs from a friend, and when he saw the home was kind of isolated, he kicked the door in.

WPXI