OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man, who allegedly absconded with over $3,000 in cash from his resort roommate nearly 25 years ago, was picked up on a warrant last week after getting a pedestrian citation and now faces felony theft charges.
In September 1992, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported theft at a residence on Jamestown Road. The victim told police he went out to the store for about 30 minutes and when he returned, his two roommates, including Brian Toth, now 44, of Ocean City, were gone with most of their belongings missing along with around $3,300 in cash from the victim’s dresser drawer. A lengthy investigation ensued and Toth was identified as a suspect and ultimately a warrant was issued for his arrest way back in 1992. Fast-forward 25 years and Toth last week was detained by an OCPD officer for a pedestrian crossing violation.
Under normal circumstances, the OCPD officer would typically advise Toth about the importance of pedestrian safety and he probably would have been let go after the officer identified him and urged him to use the crosswalks. However, when the officer pulled up Toth’s information, he observed an arrest warrant dating back to September 1992 for the alleged theft of his roommate’s money 25 years ago. Now, he faces felony theft charges from an alleged incident that occurred when he was just 19 years old.
According to police reports, the victim left his residence to go to the grocery store nearby on Sept. 13, 1992. When he left, two of his roommates, Toth and another man known only as Tim, were still in the apartment. When the victim returned, he discovered Toth and the other man had moved out and roughly $3,300 of his money was missing.
The victim told police Toth and the other suspect had talked about moving to Texas and that he thought the pair might take a Trailways bus from Ocean City to Texas. The victim told police he had called the now-defunct Trailways bus station on 2nd Street and learned the last bus leaving Ocean City from the depot that day was departing at 5 p.m.
Acting on that information, OCPD officers responded to the Trailways station at 2nd Street to watch the area and see if the two suspects showed up as expected. OCPD officers canvassed the area around the bus station and did not locate any suspects matching the description provided by the victim. OCPD officers also asked the bus station attendant if anyone matching the suspects’ descriptions had entered the facility that afternoon or had purchased bus tickets to Texas or any other destination, to which the attendant answered no to both.
OCPD officers continued to monitor the area around the bus station until the last bus left at 5 p.m. OCPD officers also responded to the town’s municipal bus station at South Division Street and asked the driver who had made the most recent north-south run if he had seen the suspects to no avail. The victim told police he had known the two suspects for about three months and had been living with them for two months, but only for week prior at the Jamestown Road apartment. The victim told police he knew the two suspects had worked for a time at O.C. Sneakers, a now-defunct mid-town restaurant.
OCPD detectives met with the restaurant manager who told police Toth and the other man, now identified as Tim Brownwell, had worked there, but had been fired recently because of unsatisfactory work performance. OCPD detectives used the suspects’ last time cards to identify their last names.
The victim also told police he believed Toth and Brownwell were from Harrisburg, Pa. A check with the Pennsylvania State Police and a motor vehicle administration check turned up information on a Brian Toth from Harrisburg, but not Brownwell. OCPD detectives were able to find an address and a telephone number for Toth through motor vehicle records. When the officers called the number, it was answered by Toth’s grandmother, who told police her grandson, Brian Toth, had been in Ocean City for the summer and that he had been living with another man she knew as Tim Brownwell. The grandmother told police Toth had called her once since leaving Ocean City but did not tell her from where he was calling.
The investigation revealed Toth left his temporary residence in Ocean City suddenly on Sept. 13 at approximately the same time the victim’s $3,300 in cash was stolen. Toth had not returned to his permanent residence in Harrisburg and his family was uncertain of his whereabouts. Based on all of the evidence, an arrest warrant was issued for Toth charging him with felony theft. Nearly 25 years later, he was located last week during a routine pedestrian stop and identified as the suspect who allegedly swiped $3,300 from his roommate decades earlier. Toth, who now resides in Ocean City according to court records, now faces felony theft charges 25 years later.
