Hempfield man told police he ripped state flag from pole over tax refund check

A Hempfield man who state police said ripped the Pennsylvania state flag from a pole last week was angry he had yet to receive his tax refund check, according to court papers.

Misdemeanor charges of theft, maliciously taking down a flag and defacing a flag and a summary criminal mischief count were filed Thursday against Roger C. Strautmann, 33. Troopers said they recovered the flag.

State police were called March 25 to the Hempfield Sheetz convenience store on Route 30 near Westmoreland Mall after a man was seen ripping the state flag off the pole and leaving with it. The flag was flying at half-staff in honor of two troopers who were killed in the line of duty last month.

The store manager provided investigators with surveillance video and police released it to media and other officers in hopes of identifying the suspect and the Volkswagen in which he fled, according to court papers. The video showed the man yanking repeatedly at the blue flag at 10:30 a.m. before it ripped and touched the ground.

On 03/25/22 at approx 1005 hours the pic male stole the Commonwealth flag which was flying at half mast for the two fallen Troopers being flown at the Sheetz past Eastgate toward Latrobe.

He did not enter the Sheetz or purchase gas just went and stole the flag. pic.twitter.com/K7walEq7Ul

— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) March 25, 2022

Another trooper identified Strautmann as the person in the video based on an interaction with him the same day. The nature of that situation was unclear from court papers but the Volkswagen Strautmann was driving had been towed.

Around 4 p.m. March 25, Strautmann answered the door of a home belonging to the car’s registered owner, a few miles away from Sheetz. He told troopers he became angry while outside the convenience store talking on the phone with a relative about not yet receiving his tax refund check, according to court papers.

As the flag blew in the wind, Strautmann told police he grabbed it, ripped it off the pole and put it in the car’s trunk before leaving.

“(Troopers) asked him why he did that, and he replied that he hates the state of Pennsylvania,” police wrote in court papers.

The flag was valued at $50. A summons was issued. A preliminary hearing is set for May 20. Strautmann did not have an attorney listed in online court records. He could not be reached.

State flags had at that time been ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf to be flown at half-staff in honor of Troopers Martin F. Mack III, 33, and Branden T. Sisca, 29, who were hit and killed by a driver on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. The pair were helping a pedestrian walking on the highway into their patrol unit. The pedestrian also died.

The state’s flag features its coat of arms along with two horses and an eagle set on a blue background. A shield on the coat of arms depicts a ship, plow, wheat, olive branch and cornstalk, along with the words “virtue, liberty and independence.” Its design was first authorized by the General Assembly in 1799.