Alburtis Council Member Tore Up Farm Field and Stole Political Signs, DA Says

A 19-year-old Alburtis man and member of Borough Council drove through an acre of a farm field in Lower Macungie Township causing $595 in damage, according to the Lehigh County district attorney's office.

Kyle Avery Bower also has been charged with theft for allegedly stealing political signs from the front lawn of an Alburtis home.

Alburtis Council President Stephen Hill says he plans to ask Bower to resign, according to a story in the Morning Call.

Bower is still at the beginning of four years of probation "for crimes he pleaded guilty to in Lehigh and Berks counties," the story said.

Bower, of 305 Franklin St., Alburtis, has been charged with:

• agricultural crop destruction, a second-degree felony
• agricultural vandalism, a second-degree misdemeanor
• criminal mischief, a third-degree misdemeanor
• and summary offenses of abandonment of a vehicle, trespass by motor vehicle, and restriction on alcoholic beverages

Bower has been charged with misdemeanors of theft by unlawful taking or disposition and receiving stolen property.

Half-Empty Beer Bottle Found in Vehicle

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police, Troop M, Fogelsville:

At about 8 a.m. on Oct.4, 2012, a state trooper was dispatched to Ruth Road and Smith Lane in Lower Macungie Township to investigate a report of a vehicle that had been driven through multiple sections of a farm field and had been abandoned partially in the field.

The trooper saw a car, with no key inside, in the soybean field. Two bottles of beer – one that was half empty - were in the center cup holders. The trooper determined that the vehicle was registered to Kyle Avery Bower.

The vehicle was towed and impounded in a state police impound lot.

State police estimated that the damage to one acre of crop land was $595.

Three Political Signs Stolen

 An affidavit of probable cause filed in the theft case by Alburtis Chief Robert Palmer alleges:

At about 8:50 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2012, Alburtis resident Thomas Bickert reported that three political signs that he had posted on his lawn at 320 Chestnut St. had been stolen sometime during the night.

The signs were found in the back seat of Bower's vehicle that had been abandoned in the soybean field.

As in every criminal case, the fact that an arrest has occurred or a complaint has been filed is merely an accusation; and the defendant Kyle Avery Bower, is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.