Police: Couple Charged After Staging Porn Store Robbery

MURRYSVILLE, Pa.,None — Police said an armed robbery at an adult video store along Route 22 in Murrysville last week turned out to be a hoax.

Police were investigating a robbery call at Murrysville Video News, formerly Adult Bookstore, in the early-morning hours of July 18.

On Monday, police said the whole thing turned out to be a false report. The clerk and his girlfriend, Kurtis Edward Helbing, 21, and Dana Tielsch, 35, both of Turtle Creek staged the robbery and have been arrested, police said.

Last week, police said Tielsch arrived to pick up Helbing when his shift ended and noticed the door was locked and lights were out, so she called police.

Police forced their way inside the store and found Helbing in a utility room. Police said he told them two robbers used fetish handcuffs to subdue him. Helbing went on to say that the robbers hid inside the store and waited for him to close up before they came out with guns drawn, surprising him.

Helbing told police that after the men cuffed him, they stole adult sex toys and about $1,000 before fleeing.

Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld said Helbing thought the destroyed the video store's surveillance cameras, but detectives were able to retrieve hours worth of surveillance. In one clip, according to police, Helbing is seen practicing handcuffing himself to a merchandise rack.

"He tries to act in that video as though he's a victim and his acting job was very poor. So I can tell you that the Murrysville police department is very happy to put a real set of handcuffs on Mr. Helbing," Seefeld said.

Investigators said the couple stole $18,000 in adult merchandise, $2,300 in cash from video machines and caused nearly $4,000 in damage to the store.

Police said Helbing admitted to staging the robbery because he was in debt.

"He said he owed people money and owed on some bills," Seefeld said.

Previous Stories: July 18, 2011: Robbers Handcuff Porn Store Clerk, Flee With Adult Toys

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