MOOSIC -- Moosic police have arrested three Florida men for the brazen theft of more than $100,000 in concert passes!
The Peach Festival opens Friday night on Montage Mountain but for a while, more than 100 VIP passes were missing.
It`s a busy weekend at the Hampton Inn in Moosic as hundreds of peach festival fans are choosing to stay there in comfort rather than camp out on Montage Mountain.
“It`s awesome having the hotel, I`m really happy I`m not camping on top of that mountain,” said Jesse Braitman from Baltimore.
But drama at the hotel started before the Peach Festival even got underway.
Moosic police say three men from Florida pulled off a brazen theft at the hotel Thursday evening.
Investigators say a Peach Festival employee was working in a conference room, giving out credential VIP bracelets to festival performers.
Investigators say two of the men, David Stone and Kiel Sheppard, distracted the woman while the third man, Miguel Vergara, snuck behind her and grabbed a packet of credentialed bracelets.
All three took off.
Police say the packet contained $100,000 worth of bracelets.
For festival goers staying at the Hampton Inn, they say something like this could ruin the event for everyone.
“Just last year we went to a festival that they didn`t run again this year because of financial issues, they lost too much money and if that kind of thing happened here, it would be the same thing and we won`t have a Peach Festival to go to in 2017 and that is very not cool,” said Hirsch Isen from Washington, D.C.
Moosic police say they later caught the trio up at Toyota Pavilion, where the Peach Festival is being held this weekend.
Investigators say the men were wearing the stolen bracelets.
They were charged with theft and receiving stolen property.
“I think there`s a big difference between people that maybe horde a couple tickets and then maybe try to scalped them for like profit as opposed just like straight up stealing, that`s shady, you know, I think there`s definitely a difference,” said Braitman.
Police say the men are being held on $100,000 straight bail at the Lackawanna County Prison.
