A Berks County couple is accused of stealing numerous items from multiple storage units at a facility in Bally. Jeffrey Allen Stump, 34, of Temple, and his wife Tamara Stump, 32, face identical sets of criminal charges in the Boyertown Court of District Judge Mike Hartman.

            Each has been charged with five felony counts of burglary and related conspiracy, five counts of criminal trespass and one count of theft by unlawful taking. They each also face five summary offenses of criminal mischief, according to information posted on a state judicial website.

            The couple is accused of burglarizing multiple units at Bally Storage, located at 20 North Front St., last year. Authorities claim they sold some of the items -- including multiple items from a home medical equipment company -- on Jeffrey Allen Stump's Facebook page.

            The items that were stolen include a three-foot mini fridge, a lockbox, a wheelchair, fishing equipment, an antique wedding dress, five Campbell's Soup collectors ornaments, a Honda ATC three-wheeler, boxes of stereo equipment and video camera equipment, according to his police criminal complaint.

            At 6:40 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2020, a Bally police officer investigating thefts from multiple storage units at the business met with a man who reported that his unit, and others around it, were broken into. He said the heavy duty padlock to his unit was missing.

            Six units in the same section were missing their locks and had new scratches on the paint where they used to be. Jeffrey Stump rented one of those damaged units, according to both affidavits of probable cause.

            Eight days later, while reviewing surveillance footage, the officer saw a man driving a red pickup truck, missing a front driver's side hubcap, unloading the contents of the truck bed into unit 120 between 1:53 and 2:04 a.m. on Aug. 26. The male is then seen opening two nearby units and placing the items into the truck bed.

            Four days later, the same truck - driven by the defendant - is seen pulling up to the same area of units. A witness identified by the property manager walked to the truck and is seen talking to the Stump, who pulls away with a bed full of items, including multiple boxes and a brown refrigerator, according to the legal documents.

            At 2:36 a.m. on Sept. 2, the same truck arrived at the property with an empty bed, circled the lot and stopped in a different section. Using what appears to be bolt cutters, the driver broke into a unit, began removing items and handed them to a woman to place them in the bed.
            After the female shut the unit, the man broke into a neighboring unit the same way. He removed a bicycle and placed it into the back of the truck. They placed multiple other items into the bed, including particleboard, fencing, boxes, totes and pumpkin Halloween decoration.

They left in the truck filled with items, according to law enforcement officials.

            At 3:24 p.m., they returned and opened the two units they had entered earlier in the day. The couple removed a bow and arrow, a red three-wheeler, with no front wheel and a flat back tire, and pushed it into a trailer.

            Between 3:28 and 3:32 p.m., they placed multiple items into the truck and trailer, including four tires, a filled blue plastic bin, a red tin tool carrier and a filled black trash can, according to court records.

            At 1:45 a.m. on Sept. 2, officers from the Central Berks Police department stopped a red pickup truck, containing Jeffrey and Tamara Stump on Route 73 at Bertolet Mill Road in Oley Township. The couple told police they were on the way to their storage unit in Bally, the legal document states.

            Both defendants were charged on Sept. 23, 2020. They were arrested and arraigned on Jan. 6. Hartman set bail in both cases as $100,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing for Jeffrey and Tamara Stump was scheduled for Jan. 20.