(La Porte County, IN) - A Pennsylvania man has been arrested, and accused of rummaging through a crashed FedEx truck along the Indiana Toll Road in LaPorte County, taking items from packages he wanted for Christmas.

 

Robert Campellone, III, is charged in LaPorte Circuit Court with Level 6 felony theft. Officials say an Indiana State Police officer responded Sunday to mile-marker 51, about two miles east of the LaPorte exit, about a pick-up truck parked where a FedEx tractor trailer was lying in a ditch. When he arrived, the Trooper spotted a man later identified as Campellone inside the open trailer.

 

The trooper made his way down the embankment while concealing himself behind the damaged metal of the trailer.  Eventually, he got close enough to witness the man cutting opening boxes inside the trailer with a knife.

 

“He would examine the contents and move on to the next box,” said Master Trooper Tim McCormick in his report.

 

After ordering the man out of the trailer at gunpoint,Campellone told the officer he pulled over to urinate and saw, “all of these Christmas gifts,” and thought he would save money on his holiday shopping. The La Porte County Animal Control was called to remove a rottweiler from his pickup before authorities could search the vehicle. Inside, they found moo than $1,400 in items from the semi, including a case of wine, among other things.

 

Police said it might be difficult to have the recovered items delivered to their rightful owners due to the number of empty boxes, and not knowing which items were being shipped where.

 

Campellone could face an up to three year sentence.