Commonwealth v. Lewis

*597OLSZEWSKI, Judge:

This matter comes before this court en banc on appeal from a judgment of sentence for retail theft.1 The relevant events occurred on January 5, 1982, at 7:11 p.m., when appellant, James Dean Lewis, was seen leaving Stambaugh’s Hardware Store in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, without paying for a chain saw he had in his possession. At approximately 8:00 p.m., appellant was arrested at the scene by officers of the Hermitage Police Department, but he was not apprised of the reasons for his arrest. Soon after his arrival at police headquarters, appellant blurted out the following…