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Woman charged with theft, resisting arrest

A Lansford woman faces resisting arrest, theft and other charges stemming from an incident that happened on Jan. 14.

Evelyns Sanchez, 23, of 223 W. Abbott St., was also charged with unsworn falsification, receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.She is believed to be in Philadelphia, or she may have checked herself into a drug rehabilitation center.According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by officer Jason A. Helmer with District Judge Casimir Kosciolek of Lansford, here's what happened:At 6:30 p.m. that day, Michael Smith called to report that his wallet, including his driver's license, Social Security card, credit cards and $400 in cash had been taken from the 223 W. Abbott St. home where he had been staying.He told police he had been having problems with Sanchez, his former girlfriend. He said she had relapsed into heroin addiction, and he believed she had stolen his wallet to buy drugs.At 7:50 p.m., Smith called Helmer to say he had seen Sanchez walking along East Kline Avenue. He confronted her, and she became irate and began hitting him.When police arrived, Sanchez was uncooperative, yelling, screaming and refusing to obey commands. People began coming out of their homes to see what was going on.Police warned Sanchez several times to calm down, to no avail. When police tried to arrest her, she pulled away and refused to be cuffed. Sanchez appeared to be trying to reach for something along her right side.When she was finally cuffed and in the cruiser, she continued to yell and scream, and she started hitting her head on the rear seat divider.At the police station, she waived her Miranda rights and told police "I have a needle." She was shaky, clammy, appeared nervous, and began to cry.Summit Hill police officer Lori Leinhard was asked to help search Sanchez. Leinhard found a syringe in Sanchez' bra.Sanchez told police she had been "detoxing" and was trying to figure out how to get to Philadelphia to get high. She said she had the needle in anticipation of the trip.Sanchez denied taking Smith's wallet and said she didn't know where it was. She was released after giving police a written statement.At 5:40 Jan. 15, Helmer met Smith at the police station. Smith said he had gotten a text message from Sanchez saying that she had taken the wallet, and that it was in the back seat of the police cruiser.Helmer found the wallet under the driver's side seat. It contained the cards, but no cash.