The father of the Washington Township shooting suspect is accused of helping his son avoid capture by local law enforcement officials.

            Michael Charles Hale, 53, of Morris Road in East Greenville, allegedly provided Matthew Hale, 19, of  Ashford Lane in Hereford, $30,000 and helped him break into multiple safes inside a residence in Marlborough Township prior to his fleeing to Florida, according to a police criminal complaint filed in District Court 38-2-02.

            Michael Hale faces two felony counts of hindering the apprehension or the prosecution of a suspect for his alleged actions in the days following an April 14 shooting incident, according to the same information.

            Michael Hale brought between $39,000 and $40,000 to Matthew Hale, a suspect in the shooting of a 13-year-old boy through a window of a home on Stauffer Road in Washington Township on April 14, which allowed him and Sydney Carper-Sellers avoid apprehension. 

            According to the affidavit of probable cause, Michael Hale instructed his son and Carper-Sellers after the shooting to drive to an apartment at the intersection of Gravel Pike and West Campbell Road in Marlborough Township. At the scene, Michael Hale then allegedly helped his son break into multiple safes containing large amounts of cash.

            Matthew Hale gave his father $23 in return for his help, according to law enforcement officials.

            Two days after the shooting, Brevard County's specialized fugitive unit apprehended Matthew Hale near a condominium complex at 8:30 p.m. in Melbourne, Fla.

            Brevard County officials apprehended Carper-Sellers with Hale and charged both with possession of marijuana over 20 grams, according to Tod Goodyear, the public information officer with the Brevard County Sherriff's Office. Carper-Sellers was released on May 16, and the Florida charges were dropped, according to Goodyear.

            "I'm guessing she was taken back to Pennsylvania at that time," Goodyear wrote in a June 9 email.

            Matthew Hale's extradition to Pennsylvania – to face charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm without a license and illegal possession of a weapon – could be delayed because the defendant faces three drug charges in Florida. He remains in the Brevard County Jail, according to Goodyear.

            According to court documents, local authorities charged Michael Hale, previously convicted of two misdemeanor drug charges Montgomery County in 2014, on June 7 following several conversations with investigators.

            In the initial aftermath of the shooting, Michael Hale told law enforcement officials that Matthew Hale told him he was "in trouble" during a phone conversation at 7:45 p.m. on April 14. Michael Hale told law enforcement officials that he instructed his son to turn himself in, according to the legal document.

            The following day, the state police identified Matthew Hale as the shooter and charged him. Authorities also charged Carper-Sellers with hindering apprehension or prosecution.

            On April 16, when authorities in Florida apprehended Matthew Hale, they found a plastic baggie containing about 1 gram of suspected marijuana during a search.

            Inside a gray backpack that the suspect had in his possession, law enforcement officials located $30,480 packaged in clear plastic zip lock baggies broken down mostly into $1,000 increments as well as one clear plastic baggie containing seven rubber containers filled with a brown sticky residue and one bag containing wax paper and 30 grams of a brown sticky substance identified as THC, according to the probable cause affidavit from Brevard County.

            During the following three days, Michael Hale told authorities that Matthew Hale stole approximately $40,000 from his home, which was the "result of saving for years," courts papers state.

            Michael Hale allegedly provided vague responses related to his whereabouts on the night of the shooting. He told police that he was at his girlfriend's residence. Michael Hale also told the investigator that he did not want her "involved or spoken to," according to the legal document.  

            Initially, Michael Hale said his son directed him to meet him at "the pump."  Michael initially did not what that statement meant, but later stated he drove to a house near Route 100 and Hereford Elementary School and, after waiting for a period of time, Matthew Hale never showed up.

            During that telephone discussion with an investigator, Michael Hale became uncooperative and hung up the phone, according to court records. On April 20, Michael Hale's girlfriend contacted State Police and told authorities she was not with him on the evening of April 14.

            The following day, the woman reported that Michael Hale told her over the phone that Matthew Hale "shot a kid in Boyertown."  Michael Hale also related that Matthew Hale requested that the father get "drugs and money from his room belonging," according to law enforcement officials. The woman also stated that the money belonged to Matthew Hale. She explained that "he was one of the biggest drug dealers in Upper Perk."

            In a subsequent conversation with the Michael Hale's girlfriend it was revealed that after the shooting Michael Hale informed his son and Carper-Sellers to drive to the intersection of Gravel Pike and West Campbell Road in Marlborough Township.  Once there, Michael Hale helped Matthew Hale break into multiple safes which contained the large amount of cash.

            During a June 7 arraignment, Montgomery Township District Judge Andrea Hudak Duffy set bail in the case against Michael Hale at $250,000 cash, according to information posted on a state judicial website. The judge included a condition that Michael Hale not be allowed to contact his son or Carper-Sellers. Michael Hale was remanded to Montgomery County jail.

            A preliminary hearing in the case, before Hummel Fried, has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 20.