A judge has cleared Palmerton Municipal Fire Department Chief Larry J. Zawaly of all charges in a theft case brought against him earlier this year.

At a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Judge Edward M. Lewis declared there was not enough evidence to bring the theft charges against Zawaly to trial.

Zawaly had been charged with theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property stemming from an incident that occurred while he was responding to a crash with the fire company.

But at Wednesday's hearing, the only testimony came from the officer who observed the alleged theft, leading Lewis to dismiss the charges.

Patrolman Michael Fedor testified that he and Zawaly were both working at the scene of a crash on Mauch Chunk Road on June 13 where the driver was hospitalized. Fedor said he saw Zawaly take a small tool box that had been thrown from the overturned vehicle.

Fedor said that Zawaly acted unusually before and after picking up the tools, leading him to believe that it was theft. He confronted Zawaly at the scene and took the tools, but did not arrest him.

When he announced his decision, Lewis specifically mentioned the fact that police never actually showed the tools to the victim. Under cross examination from defense attorney Greg Mousseau, Fedor revealed that the truck driver only described the tools over the phone because he had been hospitalized.

No one else testified at the hearing.

A handful of supporters who joined Zawaly in the courtroom cheered when Lewis announced his decision.

Outside, they said they felt that justice was served.

"It was heartbreaking that he had to go through this for so long," said Kim Shoop, a fellow Palmerton firefighter. "Police and firefighters are supposed to work together."