17-year-old suspected of theft

SHENANDOAH – The victim of a robbery in Mahanoy City testified in court Thursday that he complied with the demands of masked men who got into his car out of fear.

Stephen Cole, 24, of Mount Carmel, testified in Magisterial District Court Anthony Kilker’s office during a preliminary hearing for a 17-year-old Mahanoy City teen.

All charges were stayed for the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas. The teen participated via video at the Schuylkill County Jail, where he has been held since his Oct. 8 arrest. At the time, bail was set at $100,000 cash. According to police, the teen is charged with theft, conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and possession of a weapon.

The teen is charged as an adult. The other attacker was not named.

The incident in question occurred shortly after 8 p.m. on October 25, 2023, while Cole was waiting to pick up a friend after a party, according to testimony. He said he was sitting in his car (a 2018 Hyundai Elantra), with the engine off, when both individuals, who were wearing masks, wanted to ride along.

After they got in, he said the attacker held a gun on him in the backseat while the other sat in the passenger seat.

They instructed him to drive near the Cocoa Hut, located at 101 E. Center St., where they then told Cole to get out of the car.

“I felt the knife on my throat,” Cole said of one of the attackers.

One of them searched him, taking his phone and $50 from his car, Cole said.

The assailant who had been sitting in the backseat with the gun then got into the car, put it in reverse and ordered the other assailant to get in, Cole testified.

Cole ran to the Cocoa Hut. Kevin Wormley said he was working at the company when Cole came in, appeared under “extreme duress” and told him what had happened.

Later the police were called. Mahanoy City Patrolman Derek Weicikosky and another officer responded to the Cocoa Hut.

Cole’s car was found at 12th and Market streets in the borough, and state police tested it for DNA evidence. Fingerprints matching those of the 17-year-old were found on the driver’s side of the vehicle, Weicikosky testified.