2 accused of stealing dirt bike, trading it for motorcycle

Two men from Saegertown are facing charges for stealing a dirt bike in Crawford County and trading it for a motorcycle in Seneca.

Franklin state police said in a criminal complaint that on Sept. 15, a trooper saw a dirt bike for sale in Seneca on Facebook marketplace that matched the description of a dirt bike that had been reported stolen Sept. 8 from a residence in Hayfield Township, Crawford County.

Jacob Burdick, 19, and Connor Kimmel, 18, were later charged for trading the stolen dirt bike for a motorcycle, the complaint said. The owner of the dirt bike identified his bike from the photos posted on Facebook, according to the complaint.

When police made contact with the man who was trying to sell the dirt bike, he told them he had traded a motorcycle to Burdick for the dirt bike via Facebook marketplace, the complaint said.

The man gave state police pictures of the messages he exchanged with Burdick through Facebook to set up the trade, according to the complaint.

On Sept. 16, the motorcycle was entered into a police database as being stolen, the complaint said. It was recovered the next day during a traffic stop from the possession of Burdick and Kimmel in Crawford County, according to the complaint.

Burdick and Kimmel admitted to police they knew the dirt bike was stolen and had been traded for the motorcycle, the complaint said.

Burdick said he had made the arrangements to trade the bike for the motorcycle and Kimmel admitted to being with him when the trade was made, the complaint said.

Burdick and Kimmel were both charged with felony counts of theft by deception-false impression and criminal use of a communication facility.

Preliminary hearings for the two are scheduled Nov. 10 in Venango County Central Court.