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Police: Pa. Couple Stole Salvation Army Donations To Buy Drugs

MCDONALD, Pa. (AP) — Police say an unemployed couple facing eviction admitted swiping a Salvation Army donation bucket from a Pittsburgh-area convenience store so they could use the cash to buy drugs.

Joshua Basinger and Rachel Pecharka were arrested Tuesday in McDonald, Pennsylvania, and charged with theft, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy.

Police say the 30-year-old Basinger and 21-year-old Pecharka told officers they emptied the bucket of cash after last Friday's theft and threw it into an Aliquippa trash bin.

Police posted surveillance photos of the suspects on the department's Facebook page. They say anonymous tips led them to Basinger and Pecharka.

Court records with information on the couple's lawyers were not immediately available.

McDonald is about 18 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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