HONESDALE -- A Wayne County Jury convicted Roy Wade Tigue, age 47, of Hawley PA, for stealing catalytic convertors and trespassing, a misdemeanor 1 and misdemeanor 3, respectively. The Honorable President Judge Janine Edwards also found the Defendant guilty of the summary offense of driving with a suspended license. First Assistant District Attorney Shelley Robinson prosecuted the case. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2022.
On 10/12/2020, at approximately 4:30 pm, PSP troopers were dispatched to the area of 134 White Mills Road, Texas Township, Wayne County, for a report the Defendant was trespassing and stealing catalytic converters. The property was prominently posted with yellow "no trespassing" signs.
The victim told PSP dispatch that he saw the Defendant at this location and had chased him off the property. The Defendant fled the scene in his pickup truck heading westbound on White Mills Road towards the Owego Turnpike. While going to White Mills, PSP troopers encountered the Defendant in his truck at the intersection of White Mills Road and the Owego Turnpike. The troopers took the Defendant into custody at that time.
The victim and his granddaughter told the police that upon arrival at the property in White Mills, they heard a metallic grinding noise similar to that of a saw cutting through metal. They saw the Defendant abruptly stand up from between two (2) SUVs that were parked on the property. They confronted the Defendant, and told him that they were going to contact the Police.
The Defendant then sprinted away on White Mills Road to the opposite side of the roadway where his truck was parked in a secluded wooded area approximately 100 yards away. The Defendant left his tools near a jacked up vehicle, including a hand saw, parts to a reciprocating power saw, wrenches and sockets, and a backpack at the scene.
Underneath the vehicle was observed a cut portion of the exhaust which appeared to be consistent with the location of a catalytic converter. The catalytic converter was in fact missing from the vehicle.
The Defendant is currently being held in the Wayne County Correctional Facility for this offense and four (4) other pending matters, including: 1) DUI; 2) Receiving Stolen Property, Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, Reckless Driving, Driving with a Suspended License, and Criminal Mischief; 3) Receiving Stolen Property; 4) Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Scattering Rubbish.