Six police departments searched for the driver after he ran from the stop.
A Bangor man driving a stolen car was nabbed by Stockertown police after fleeing a traffic stop that brought out a search team of six police departments to find him, police said.
Timothy Louis Stepp (Courtesy photo) Timothy Louis Stepp, 51, of the 200 block of South Main Street, was stopped by borough police shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday for allegedly having an expired inspection sticker on the red Hyundai he was driving.
An officer initially stopped him in the parking lot of A&H Sporting Goods. But Stepp didn't wait as the officer was running his registration through a database, police said.
He took off running toward the swamps near the Stockertown Rod and Gun Club, 204 LeFevre Road, and had officers from six departments searching for him. Law enforcement included an Easton K-9 team, as well as officers from Upper Nazareth Township, Nazareth, Tatamy and Pennsylvania State police.
At some point, Stepp threw his yellow jacket while running, which was recovered by police. The stolen Hyundai was towed from the lot.
News reports followed alerting the public to call police if they saw Stepp. It led to the identification of Stepp, whom a caller said was homeless, court records say.
Stolen car driver flees Stockertown traffic stop, cops say
Police found Stepp on social media, in which his Facebook page revealed he worked for Nelson Tree Service. A general foreman at the job site matched Stepp's store surveillance photo on lehighvalleylive.com to the employee working at the company.
A man later identified as Timothy Stepp is stopped in a car found to be stolen and flees from police Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, in Stockertown. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) The foreman also said the yellow jacket Stepp was wearing had been issued by the company. When Stepp failed to show for work, officers traveled to his Bangor home.
Stepp is charged with receiving stolen property, theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, disorderly conduct and various motor vehicle violations. He was arraigned Sunday night before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner, who set bail at $15,000.
In lieu of bail, Stepp was taken to Northampton County Prison.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.