Twin brothers take plea in theft from restaurant

CLEARFIELD — Twin brothers accused of stealing over $22,000 from their fast-food employer were in Clearfield County court on Monday.

Shawn Nevling of Curwensville and Shane Nevling of Clearfield, both 41, were managers at the McDonald's on North Second Street in Clearfield when the thefts occurred.

Both were charged with knowledge that property is proceeds of illegal acts, conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal use of a communication facility, all felonies.

On Monday, Shawn Nevling pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of criminal conspiracy/theft by unlawful taking, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

As part of his plea agreement, he was required to pay restitution of $11,151.39, which he did prior to sentencing. In exchange, he was given three years' probation by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman.

Although Shane Nevling signed a similar plea agreement, he has only paid $9,000 to date. His attorney, Ryan Dobo, asked for the case to be continued for two months to allow him to pay the rest of the debt.

"The goal is to get money for the victim," noted First Assistant District Attorney F. Cortez "Chip" Bell.

Shane Nevling's case is now scheduled for Nov. 8.

According to the affidavit, Shane Nevling worked as the night shift manager and was responsible for gathering the money at the end of the night, counting it, documenting the amount and securing it in a safe. Shawn Nevling, who was the manager on the day shift, had the responsibility of confirming the amount and making the bank deposits in the morning.

In September 2023, the accountant noticed that eight deposits starting in August 2023 were never taken to the bank.

Shawn Nevling was confronted about the missing funds on Sept. 7, 2023, and was told that police would be called if he didn't provide the money within 48 hours. He reportedly offered to pay the money back. However, as time passed, he reportedly kept stalling, saying he was trying to get a loan on his house. Eventually, the owners were unable to get hold of him and he failed to show up for work.

He later contacted the officials at the restaurant, saying he was going to turn himself in and "take the rap for his brother," whom he said had a criminal history. But Shawn Nevling did not appear at the police station.

A review of their criminal history revealed that they both had previous theft and conspiracy charges and it was noted in the criminal complaint that they had a history of committing thefts together.

Investigators were able to review messages between the brothers.

"This officer observed a number of messages between both Shawn and Shane, in regards to the money being removed from the store, resulting in the money bags being placed in Shane's shed for Shawn to pick up," according to the affidavit.

Officials reportedly found numerous messages involving the sale of controlled substances and gambling. The messages allegedly incriminated both men in a conspiracy to make the thefts. There were also messages about running away to avoid jail time.

After investigators read the messages, Shane Nevling became more cooperative, saying that he didn't originally know Shawn Nevling was stealing, but eventually he helped him. He stated that Shawn Nevling was gambling a lot and had a drug addiction.

When Shawn Nevling was questioned, he initially said Shane Nevling took the money and wanted him to take the blame. But after he was told the police had seen their messages, Shawn Nevling claimed he "lost" three or four deposits in July and was floating the deposits to make up for the mistake. He thought maybe someone else in his family had used his vehicle, cleaning it out and throwing the deposits away by mistake.

Shawn Nevling did say he only used his own money to gamble but admitted to being addicted to prescription medications.

When asked when Shane Nevling figured out he was stealing the money, Shawn Nevling confirmed that his brother didn't know at first. He also stated that he believed Shane Nevling was taking a portion of the deposits for himself.