Commonwealth v. Linder

WICKERSHAM, Judge:

Appellant, Ralph Linder, was convicted by a jury of theft by deception. 1 Post-verdict motions were denied, and appellant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two to five years. This appeal followed.

The facts may be summarized as follows. On August 20, 1978, between three and four p. m., Dennis Fitzgerald was the attendant at Neely’s Sunoco Station in Hatfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was approached by appellant who identified himself as J. B. Smith and asked to speak to Mr. Neely, the owner of the station.

Mr. Fitzgerald called Mr. Neely on the…