11 hours ago
Police: Scranton man broke into Taylor auto business
A Scranton man who told officers he wasn't feeling well without his narcotics broke into a Taylor business Friday to retrieve a backpack that had contained the pills, police charge.
The bag was inside his vehicle, which had been seized after a traffic stop the day before. But the pills he sought were no longer inside it — police had already checked them into evidence, according to a criminal complaint.
Officer Matt McDonald was informed Friday that a man broke into NEPA Towing in the 600 block of Oak Street around 1 a.m. He then broke into a vehicle being stored there, according to a criminal complaint.
Officers provided McDonald with video footage that showed a tall, thin, hooded man wearing gloves outside the business looking into the garage, police said.
The man — later identified as James Creamer — broke the glass on the front door, officers said.
Creamer then broke the back passenger window of the vehicle, reached in and grabbed a black backpack, which he put under his shirt before leaving on foot, police said.
The physical description of the man matched the driver from the traffic stop, according to the criminal complaint.
During the traffic stop, Creamer told police he had a gun and pill bottles in a backpack in the back seat, officers said.
After a search warrant was approved Thursday, officers found the black backpack containing a firearm, two orange pill bottles with 57 ecstasy pills and a baggie with a white substance inside it, police said. The items were placed into evidence and the backpack was put back in the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
During an interview at police headquarters, Creamer admitted using drugs and noted he's currently an addict, telling officers he takes the pills daily to make him calm and to 'think better,' police said.
He initially denied involvement with the break-in at NEPA Towing, claiming he was at his girlfriend's house all night. He later admitted breaking into the business and vehicle, officers said. He walked to the business from Scranton, broke in through the front door, broke the back passenger window, took the backpack and walked back to his girlfriend's house in Scranton, according to a criminal complaint.
Police charged Creamer, 29, with burglary, criminal trespass, tampering with evidence, obstructing administration of law, and loitering and prowling at night.
As of Wednesday, Creamer remained in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
