Criminal mischief
UPPER AUGUSTA TOWNSHIP - State police at Stonington reported someone scratched a gray 2008 Hyundai Tiburon owned by Joel Edward Hoover, 21, of Port Trevorton, while it was parked in the lot at Anthracite Industries between 3 and 11:20 p.m. Wednesday.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is urged to call state police at 286-5601.
Theft charges
DALMATIA - Heather Michelle Anderson, 27, of Sunbury, has been charged by Trooper Daniel Wilk with stealing between 15 and 20 Percocet tablets from the medicine cabinet of Theresa Marlene Dobson, 59, of 1495 Toad Valley Road, Dalmatia, between 6 and 8:30 p.m. June 11.
Bengal cats update
SHAMOKIN - Chief of Police Edward Griffiths said there have been no reported sightings of two Bengal cats since one of them bit its owner on the arm June 18 at a home in the 100 block of East Chestnut Street.
Griffiths said he believes the adopted cats, which were placed in the basement of the home after their owner was bitten, are hiding in the walls or crevices of the cellar because they are scared to come out.
"When cats like that get scared, they tend to hide from everybody," he said. "That's what I believe happened here because we have had no reported sightings of the cats since the incident."
The owner suffered a minor injury and was treated at a local hospital for the bite, Griffiths said.
Initially, police believed the Bengal cats fled from the home and were roaming free in the city.
The police chief said the felines, which have a spotted marble coat similar to that of a Bengal tiger, are normal-sized house cats and do not pose a danger to the public. But like any stray animal, Griffiths cautioned residents not to pet the cats. Anyone who spots the cats should call police at 648-5708.
According to the International Cat Association, a registry of pedigreed cats, Bengal cats were developed from crossing domestic cats and the Asian leopard cat. The breed is described as an active, inquisitive cat that loves to be up high and is busy by nature.
A representative from the Pennsylvania Game Commission previously reported the cats are legal to own, and said there are 20 Bengal cat breeders in Pennsylvania.