Three New York men are in McKean County Jail, charged for allegedly breaking into Camp Penuel East in Eldred — then making s’mores, having a campfire and spending the night.
Trey Nothem, 22, of 48 Brooklyn St., Portville; Ryan C. Walsh, 22, of 929 Portville Olean Road, Portville; and Stephen Capitani, 24, of 231 Carolina St., Olean; are all facing charges relating to the incident, which police said took place June 14 at 56 Camp Road in Eldred.
According to court records, the camp’s owner called state police June 14 to report the burglary. She said she had walked through the door of the staff dorm and saw three males sleeping. She left, called 9-1-1, then started back to the dorm. She passed the three males leaving in a car with New York plates, and gave the information to the police.
She went in the mess hall and noticed an assortment of candy had been taken, including 10 boxes of candy bars. Police tracked the license number of the car, and contacted New York state police to track down the car’s owner.
After speaking to someone at the owner’s residence, police were able to identify the three males from the camp as Nothem, Walsh and Capitani. Walsh told police they went to the cabins on June 10, and let themselves in through an unlocked door, spent the night and then explored the camp the next day. They built a camp fire and made s’mores with ingredients taken from the mess hall. The three were sleeping when the owner came in and found them, and told them to leave, court records read.
Capitani told police the men had gone through other cabins as well, and had taken a box fan and a night light, court records read.
Capitani is charged with burglary, a first-degree felony; criminal trespass, a second-degree felony; theft, a second-degree felony; and receiving stolen property, a second-degree misdemeanor. He was remanded to jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Central Court July 20.
Nothem is charged with burglary, a first-degree felony; criminal trespass, a third-degree felony; receiving stolen property, a first-degree misdemeanor; and theft, a second-degree misdemeanor. He was remanded to jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. He is scheduled for Central Court July 20.
Walsh is charged with burglary, a first-degree felony; burglary, criminal trespass and theft, second-degree felonies; and receiving stolen property, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was remanded to jail in lieu of $10,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Central Court July 20.
Camp Penuel East is a non-denominational Christian camp for children ages 7 to 11.
