A former Reading man is in Berks County Prison following his arraignment on charges that he lied to a Fleetwood detective during his investigation of a motorcycle stolen from an employee parking lot at East Penn Manufacturing Co. last summer.
Genaro Morant-Perez, 48, of Philadelphia was jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail following arraignment Wednesday night before District Judge Dean R. Patton in Reading Central Court.
A bench warrant had been issued for him, according to court records, after he failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment. It was unclear how he was taken into custody.
Morant-Perez faces two counts each of making false reports, hindering an investigation and conspiracy.
Criminal Investigator Keith Merkel of Fleetwood police filed the charges in June after investigating the July 28, 2023, theft and subsequent attempt to sell the stolen bike with a rebranded vehicle identification number.
According to the criminal complaint:
The victim discovered his 2023 Suzuki motorcycle missing at 12:30 p.m. in the lot of the battery factory in Richmond Township. He had last seen it at 10:30 a.m.
Another employee told police that he saw a male pushing the bike, which featured royal blue seat cushions and red-and-blue rims, toward the front gate but lost sight of it when he turned into the lot.
Security camera footage showed a silver Toyota Camry occupied by three males enter Gate 2 at 11:10 a.m. that day and exit at 11:23 a.m.
Police identified the driver and charged him in the theft, but he refused to identify his accomplices, who have yet to be identified. The name of the driver who was charged wasn't available.
About two weeks later the victim saw his motorcycle advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace, an online classified advertising site. The ad was linked to the Facebook account of a man identified as Angel Crespo, 31, of Reading.
Police located the bike in the 1000 block of Marion Street, where it was parked illegally.
The VIN had been restamped, but investigators determined the engine number matched the engine of the victim’s stolen bike.
When questioned about how he came in possession of the stolen bike, Crespo initially claimed he had bought it from “an old man” in the block known as “E.”
Sent to vouch for his friend’s account, Morant-Perez provided the name of the man who purportedly provided the bike. That account was refuted by the fact that, as Merkel discovered, the man known as “E” had died before the motorcycle was stolen.
Crespo was arrested in July on charges of making false reports and receiving stolen property. The charges were held for court after a preliminary hearing Sept. 3 before District Judge Gail M. Greth in Fleetwood, and he was free on $50,000 bail to await further court action, according to online court records.