Sunbury man involved in multiple 2022 burglaries pleads guilty in court

Francis Scarcella, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

May 9—SUNBURY — A 36-year-old Sunbury man will wait to see if a Northumberland County judge will accept a guilty plea to 20 felony counts of burglary stemming from a 2022 series of incidents that led local and state police on various burglary investigations throughout several counties.

Joseph Kemper, of Bainbridge Street, appeared before President Judge Page Rosini and pleaded guilty to the 20 felony charges, which could land him in jail for several years after Rosini said each county has a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in state prison.

Kemper was taken into custody in March 2022 and transported to the Stonington state police barracks. There, police said Kemper allegedly admitted to being a driver in numerous February 2022 incidents that spanned across Northumberland, Snyder, Union, Columbia and Montour counties, according to police.

Kemper told troopers he was not involved but later admitted to being the driver in some of the incidents. He said he needed to support his family, according to troopers. Kemper said he was paid for his involvement, according to troopers.

The burglary targets included the following churches: Clarks Grove United Methodist Church, in Shamokin Township; Christian Assembly, in Rockefeller Township; Redeemer Orthodox Church, and Mooresburg United Methodist Church, both in Montour County and a church in the Milton area, according to troopers.

Other businesses that had been burglarized were Witmer Fuels, Northumberland County State Health Center and Masser's Farm Market, troopers said.

Troopers said they also discovered stolen gift cards were taken from vehicles and one of them was used at a local hardware store.

Sunbury police worked in conjunction with state police during the investigation that led to reviewing video surveillance footage from multiple businesses, troopers said.

The case is being prosecuted by state Deputy Attorney General Ashleigh Latonick, of the organized crime section.

Kemper told Rosini he understood the charges and the plea he was making. Rosini said she would take the plea into consideration and if accepted Kemper would be sentenced at a later date after a presentence investigation was completed.