Bensalem police have arrested a man in connection with the theft Monday, of $190,000 in cash from a Tesla parked at a gas station on Knights Road.
Police said they used surveillance video and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) to identify the white Kia Optima with front-end damage driven by the theft suspect and a 2023 Bristol Township accident report to identify the owner.
Christopher Plytas, 43, the owner of the Kia, which was involved in the 2023 accident and Monday’s theft, according to police, was charged with theft by unlawful taking, theft from a motor vehicle, and related charges. He was arraigned by District Judge Kevin Wagner and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10% of $2 million bail.
Police said they were called to the Conoco Gas Station at 2700 Knights Road at around 5 p.m. Monday, April 29. The victim told police he had $190,000 in a box in the back seat of his 2017 Tesla and that someone had broken the window and stolen all of the cash while he was inside the service station, police said.
The victim is the owner of a company that owns skill machines throughout the area, and he was at the gas station servicing one of those machines when the theft occurred, police said.
The following day, Tuesday, April 30, Bensalem police said, they obtained surveillance video of the theft and identified the suspect vehicle. The “actor” was a white man, and a female passenger was in the vehicle during the theft, the video showed.
After identifying Plytas as the owner of the Kia, Bensalem police obtained photographs of him and identified Plytas as the person who stole the $190,000 cash from the victim’s vehicle, they said. District Judge Michael Gallagher approved an arrest warrant for Plytas.
Another search of the ALPR system led police to Glen Hollow Apartments in Croydon. Police went to that location and observed the same white Kia Optima parked in the parking lot. Undercover officers surveilled the apartment complex for over four hours until they observed Plytas returning to his apartment in building 8, police said. He was taken into custody without incident.
Bensalem police executed a search warrant on the apartment and subsequently searched the white Kia Optima. Numerous items were seized from the car and apartment, including narcotics, paraphernalia, clothing, and U.S. currency totaling approximately $40,000, police said.
Bensalem police said they are continuing their investigation to determine whether this was a targeted operation, identify any co-conspirators, and attempt to locate the additional money that was reported stolen.
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