WILKES-BARRE — A Moosic man accused of attempting to steal a woman’s vehicle at a Turkey Hill in Plains Township had charges dismissed during a preliminary hearing in Luzerne County Central Court on Wednesday.
Plains Township police in court records alleged Kenneth William McDonald, 32, was loitering in front of the store on South Main Street when he approached a vehicle parked at the gasoline pump island on Dec. 9.
The woman left the driver’s door open as she walked toward the fuel pump when McDonald allegedly jumped in the driver’s seat.
After the woman screamed, a Good Samaritan sitting in another vehicle parked at an adjacent fuel pump assisted by preventing McDonald from starting the vehicle and held McDonald in the seat until police arrived, court records alleged.
A district judge dismissed charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, criminal mischief, retail theft, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness when the victim and the arresting officer failed to appear for the preliminary hearing, court records say.