An Irwin woman was charged with theft after a stolen cellphone started ringing in her pant leg inside the state welfare department office in Greensburg, city police said.
Sarah Christine Noel, 26, allegedly took a cellphone from an employee’s desk in the welfare office on Sells Lane about 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 5, authorities said.
The worker discovered her phone was missing when she returned to her desk in the cubicle where Noel was sitting. The employee recently had purchased the Apple iPhone 5c for $549.99, police said.
Noel denied taking the phone, so the worker called her phone, police said.
“The telephone began ringing, and Noel then removed the phone from her pant leg and began to apologize for stealing the phone,” police stated in an affidavit.
The phone was not damaged.
Noel was sent a notice about the theft charge by Greensburg District Judge James Albert’s office. She will have a preliminary hearing on Jan. 16.