Man accused of selling $10,000 worth of stolen tools

State police from Reading arrested a Washington Township man Thursday after they said he agreed to sell to an undercover trooper drilling tools and equipment valued at $10,000 stolen from a Bechtelsville-area job site near his home several weeks ago.

Jordan A. Simon, 33, of the first block of Eshbach Lane was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $5,000 bail to await a hearing after arraignment Thursday night before District Judge Priscilla Camps in Reading Central Court.

He was charged with receiving stolen property and criminal use of a communication facility.

According to investigators:

State police were contacted on Nov. 9 by InfraSource Underground Services LLC, which provides construction and professional services to the natural gas, oil, telecom and electric power industries, after a worker discovered a burglary at a job site at Hoffmansville Road and Route 100.

Someone had cut a hole in a chain-link fence, entered a job-site shipping container and removed a Milwaukee electromagnetic drill, a load-break tool, a Golight spotlight and a phase tester value, among other items.

Three weeks later, a company official contacted an investigating trooper to report that an individual identifying himself as Jordan Simon was attempting to sell via Facebook tools similar to those stolen from the Washington Township job site, which is about 1 mile from Simon's home. The official forwarded the images sent to him by the seller.

On Thursday, a trooper pretending to be someone interested in buying the tools phoned Simon, who agreed to sell him the tools for $3,500.