HomeNewsShrubbery suspect surrenders after video goes viral

Shrubbery suspect surrenders after video goes viral

Joseph Medycki

Castor Gardens resident Joseph Medycki wasn’t necessarily on a quest to find the Holy Grail. According to Philadelphia police, he was merely looking for a shrubbery.

- Advertisement -

Medycki found a nice, not-too-expensive one last Thursday afternoon in Michelle Hinett-Hartner’s front yard, police say. In fact, it was free because he allegedly ripped it from the ground, loaded it into his pickup truck and drove away.

Problem was, Hinett-Hartner’s surveillance camera recorded the incident in full color. She downloaded the three-minute clip, and gave it to police and a local television news station. She also posted it on Facebook, where it went viral.

Two days later, facing great peril, Medycki, 41, of the 1100 block of Saint Vincent St., showed up at the Northeast Detectives headquarters to surrender. He has been charged with theft and receiving stolen property. Police have not recovered the shrubbery, according to Detective Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum.

The crime occurred at about 2 p.m. on the 8500 block of Agusta St. in Bell’s Corner. The surveillance video shows a white pickup truck pulling up to the curb in a neighborhood of twin homes with neatly kept yards. Hinett-Hartner’s front garden is particularly handsome, featuring three closely cropped pom-pom bushes, clusters of annual flowers and a couple of avian decoys, perhaps pelicans.

During an interval of about two minutes, a man from the truck can be seen grabbing the central bush and tugging at it violently, finally uprooting it. He then loads the shrub into his truck bed, which appears to be already packed with additional greenery, and drives away.

In posting the video online, Hinett-Hartner added a title page stating: “Have you seen this Man! He is going around Stealing peoples (sic) Bushes. He Stole Mine In Northeast Philadelphia. Please Share!”

Folks did share it. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had more than 19,400 shares and 561,000 views. Hinett-Hartner did not respond to a message requesting an interview, but her Facebook friends had plenty to say.

“What a scumbag!!” one woman commented on the video.

“I can’t tell you how angry I am right now,” another woman stated.

“P.O.S.” a man commented.

“What a piece of crap … Who even thinks of this (expletive). Let me drive around and steal someone’s bushes??? I mean seriously!?!” another woman wrote.

Court records show that Medycki has crossed paths with police many times before. He has been arrested at least six times in Philadelphia since 1994 for mostly petty offenses, including four times in the last seven months.

Even before his latest arrest, Medycki was free on $2,500 bail while awaiting a trial for receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving with a suspended license. In a separate case, he was free on his own recognizance pending a trial for theft, receiving stolen property and possessing an instrument of crime. He has a third open case in which he awaits a trial for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. In a fourth recent case, he was acquitted of simple assault and reckless endangerment on Feb. 12 when a witness failed to appear at his trial, forcing the prosecutor to withdraw the charges.

In his new case, he was freed on $10,000 unsecured bail (meaning he didn’t have to post a cent) and is scheduled for a status hearing on June 3. ••

Candid camera: Joseph Medycki allegedly stole shrubbery from the front yard of a Bell’s Corner home. He has surrendered to police. SOURCE: FACEBOOK

RELATED ARTICLES
Philadelphia
few clouds
34.4 ° F
36.4 °
31.9 °
63 %
3.5mph
20 %
Tue
46 °
Wed
51 °
Thu
45 °
Fri
48 °
Sat
56 °
- Advertisment -

STAY CONNECTED

11,235FansLike
2,089FollowersFollow

Recent Articles

Raiders have plenty to be proud about

It’s never easy to see a season end with a loss. And it’s never easy to see a group of seniors walk off the court...