Shamokin Dam, Pa. — A former hotel employee in Snyder County was jailed Tuesday after he was taken into custody for allegedly stealing credit cards from the body of a deceased male and charging almost $500 of cigarettes and snacks.Â
Charges were filed in January 2019 against Jose Miguel Hernandez-Thurbhus, 33, for forgery, theft, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, and abuse of a corpse. Shamokin Dam Police say Hernandez-Thurbhus allegedly stole the credit cards from the deceased male found at the hotel, used them, and then fled to Puerto Rico.Â
In May, authorities in Puerto Rico caught Hernandez-Thurbhus and sent him back to the Pennsylvania with the assistance of U.S. Marshals. Shamokin Dam Police picked up Hernandez-Thurbhus at Harrisburg Airport Tuesday afternoon and brought him to the office of District Judge John H. Reed for arraignment.Â
The charges stem from a death investigation from December 2018 when police were called to a hotel in Shamokin Dam for a report of the death of male. Hernandez-Thurbhus was employed by the hotel at the time and encountered the body before police arrived. Hernandez-Thurbhus allegedly stole credit cards from the body of the deceased male, according to Chief Timothy Bremigen.
Several days later, police were contacted by a family member who told them there were transactions on the deceased male's bank accounts after his death.
Police investigated and obtained surveillance video from several stores in which Hernandez-Thurbhus was purchasing cigarettes and snacks totaling $492.72 over the course of several days.Â
Bremigen said Hernandez-Thurbhus is not a suspect in the death investigation. The investigation into the death is closed.Â
Hernandez-Thurbhus remains in Snyder County Prison in lieu of $250,000 monetary bail.Â
