Wal-Mart Air-conditioners are Hot Items

As summer officially approaches, temperatures are heating up and so is the interest in air-conditioners.

It's important to note the distinction between having an interest in air-conditioners and having an interest in paying for the air-conditioners, as is evident by the second of two incidents involving retail theft charges being brought at Wal-Mart in Lower Macungie.

At 6 a.m. May 30, Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 36, of Allentown put an air-conditioner and air purifier in his cart and walked out of the store at 1091 Mill Creek Road, according to . Problem was, he didn't pay for the items.

Not content with the results of the first visit, he soon returned to the store, picked out another air-conditioner and again left without paying, police said.

Rodriguez did pull away without arrest, but a store employee copied his license plate and reported the incident, police said. They did not detail an arrest but said the items were retrieved and that charges were to be filed with Magisterial District Judge Michael Faulkner.

The alleged theft follows a of May 11. In that incident, an Allentown man was apprehended after allegedly removing his third air-conditioner in the same trip without paying, according to a previous police report.