A Summit Hill man has been charged with passing bad checks at various NAPA stores throughout the state.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by office Adam Shimer of the Palmerton Borough Police Department in the case against Timmy Priest:

On March 15, Shimer was dispatched by Carbon County Communications Center to NAPA Auto Parts in the 400 block of Delaware Avenue for a fraud investigation after the staff said the corporate office loss prevention sent them a bulletin stating that a man was passing questionable checks to purchase several thousand dollars of auto parts.

Shimer contacted the man who produced a Pennsylvania Driver’s License with the name Pablo Coello, and identified himself with a PA Driver’s License. Shimer obtained the Wells Fargo check that the man was attempting to pass at the NAPA issued under another man’s name for $2,634.

Shimer reviewed the ID provided and observed discrepancies with the man in question and the photo on the ID. The man was asked to write down his name on a piece of paper, and he wrote down another man’s name with a date of birth of Aug. 31, 1989.

Shimer saw PennDOT driver’s license protruding from the man’s cellphone holder, which identified him as Timmy Lee Priest, 39.

Shimer then contacted the victim whose name Priest wrote down, and the man said he did not authorize Priest to use his identity, or have a business with the name Shimer used. The man believed his ID was lost or stolen

Shimer performed a search warrant on the Wells Fargo account, which revealed that the checking account was in the name of a woman, who said she did not possess a Wells Fargo checking account.

Palmerton Police searched Priest’s phone, and discovered a picture of the woman’s Florida identification in the pictures file on Priest’s phone.

Shimer discovered that after Priest was incarcerated, a woman was in possession of the fraudulent checks, and they were calling various NAPA stores where they would place an order for several thousand dollars. They would use a fraudulent business check as payment for an order, and Priest would attempt to return the merchandise and have the funds placed on a gift card.

The woman has not been charged.

Logos, picture found

Priest had numerous bank logos in his photos, including a Wells Fargo logo. Police said Priest conspired with his wife, Tabitha Priest, to defraud Carbon County Housing Authority and Jim Thorpe National Bank. Within his phone was a picture of a woman’s identify, and there was a secondary picture of the ID; however, it bears Tabitha Priest’s picture in lieu of the other woman’s picture.

A picture of the check was issued from Carbon County Housing Authority’s Jim Thorpe National Bank account to the woman for $4,650, so Shimer contacted the Carbon County Housing Authority in Lehighton and they confirmed that the account numbers on the check were an account that had to be closed to fraud.

Further, they explained that they did not issue a check to the woman for that amount, and relayed that JTNB refunded them the money and assumed the role as victim. The Authority conveyed that they do not have check numbers as high as the check number issued to the woman.

Shimer contacted the woman, who now resided in Charleston, South Carolina and relayed that she was acquaintances with Tabitha Priest; however, did not authorize her to use her identity. The woman relayed that in 2023, she and Tabitha Priest were together in a vehicle, and she believes that Tabitha Priest took a picture of her identification while she stopped to get gas.

The woman alleged she had left her ID in the car while she filled it up, and explained that she got notified that some woman was using her ID in Pennsylvania, but was unaware that it was Tabitha Priest.

Shimer observed a check issued from Carbon County Housing Authority from their JTNB account payable to an individual from Weissport for $47. The same check was observed to be altered for $147 payable to Tabitha Priest.

Charges

Timmy Priest faces charges of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, obstructing administration of law, false identification to law enforcement, identity theft, access device fraud, theft by deception, forgery, tampering with records or identification, theft by unlawful taking or disposition, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, bad checks, and retail theft.

Tabitha Priest, 39, is charged with conspiracy to commit forgery, conspiracy to tamper with records, conspiracy for theft, conspiracy for bad checks and related offenses.

Both have been released on bail set at $150,000 each, with the date for a preliminary hearing before District Judge William J. Kissner of Palmerton yet to be determined.