Police: Man who stole, crashed 2 vehicles arrested after ordering food at Sheetz

FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. — A man who stole then crashed two different vehicles within a few hours has been jailed thanks to a quick-thinking convenience store clerk, police said.

Matthew Beers, 22, of Mount Pleasant, was arrested Tuesday at a Bullskin Township Sheetz store.

Police said Beers and an unknown man were in a pickup truck that was reported stolen out of Connellsville when it crashed into a home and caught fire about 3:30 p.m. on Pleasant Valley Road in Bullskin Township. No one was injured and police said the pair ran off.

Officials said that three hours later, around 6:30 p.m., Beers stole a van and crashed it into a garage along the same road. Beers again left on foot and was being sought by police, emergency dispatchers said.

Police said Beers and the other man tried to steal another vehicle outside a third home, but a homeowner fired a gun and chased them away.

Roughly an hour later, at 8:06 p.m., police said Beers went into the Sheetz at the corner of Routes 982 and 119 and ordered some cheese sticks.

That's where the clerk, aware of the police manhunt, noticed Beers' bloody hands and called police.

Police went to the Sheetz and took Beers into custody. Authorities said his driver's license had been suspended and he had a syringe, stamp bags of heroin and a stolen checkbook in his possession.

The search continues for the second person involved in the vehicle thefts, police said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group