Cow bells clanked and clattered outside district court in Lansford Thursday morning as a Hazleton man accused of stealing two historic bells from Nesquehoning entered and exited the building.

The Nesquehoning Historical Society wanted to make its presence known to Luis Ivan Ocasio, 35, who appeared before District Judge Beth Dodson for a preliminary hearing on multiple counts of theft and related charges.

Ocasio instead waived all of the felony charges, which also include receiving stolen property, theft of metal and institutional vandalism, to Carbon County Court of Common Pleas.

Nesquehoning Mayor Tom Kattner said the theft “ripped the heart and the soul” out of the borough, and hopes the law will prevail.

“We can’t bring back the bells,” he said. “It’s hard. It makes people cry. I hope that individual or individuals, I hope in their heart, they cry too, because it makes me sick.”

The bells at one time were the heart of the community, calling people to worship and children to school, Lois Kuba, president of the historical society, said. The bells also rang out signaling end of the world wars and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, she said.

“They meant so much to us,” Kuba said. “The buildings might not have been there, but we were lucky to have these bells.”

The society plans to be present along each step of the justice process, moving now from district court to county court.

“It’s a process,” she said. “We will be patient. We will see this through. We will never be able to replace the bells, but we need to do everything we can to bring justice to this horrible crime.

“We’re a town with strong roots,” Kuba said. “They’re not going to break us. We will persevere and make something positive come out of this.”

On Thursday afternoon, Nesquehoning police Chief Michael Weaver issued a statement to clear up confusion that began circulating after Ocasio waived the hearing.

“Nesquehoning Police would like to clarify what happened at the hearing,” the release said. “All five felony counts against Luis Ocasio were waived to the court of common pleas. In summary, this means the case is moving forward and will be handled at the county court level. No charges were dropped or dismissed.”

The bells, which weighed a combined 1,600 pounds, were taken April 2 in broad daylight from outside the historical society on West Railroad Street.

Historical society members didn’t realize they were gone until they went to open the museum for a monthly open house days later.

Ocasio removed the bronze bells and sold them for scrap at Brenner’s Recycling in Hazleton. He received $5,575.33 for the bells - which were more than 150 years old.

Police contacted area recycling centers, but learned the bells had already been broken down and shipped out with other metal. The owner of Brenner’s forwarded the seller’s name, which was Ocasio, to police.

Police contacted Ocasio, who said he was “set up” and would cooperate with police. He claimed the bells were OK, but then never showed up for the interview with police, court papers said.

The owner of Brenner’s told police that Ocasio called him at 7:43 p.m. on April 7, a Sunday. Ocasio told the owner “the police are on to him” and asked if he could “make the bells disappear,” court papers said.

Surveillance footage from the recycling center showed Ocasio arriving in a dark gray RAM pickup, and the bells coming in on a rollback. Police also viewed Ocasio being paid for the bells, court papers said.

Ocasio’s next appearance in court will be a formal arraignment on Sept. 6. Ocasio remains free on $250,000 bail.