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Bellefonte officer, Ferguson Twp. detective receive law enforcement award

BELLEFONTE -- Bellefonte Police Department's officer Macy Neideigh was one of two Centre County law enforcement officials to receive the 2022 Officer of the Year Award recently.

Neideigh and fellow award winner, Detective Caleb Clouse of the Ferguson Township Police Department, were honored at a ceremony held at the Centre County Courthouse.

Of the six nominations this year, two officers were chosen for their commitment, hard work and dedication to the communities they work in.

The award is given for exceptional achievement in any police endeavor, on duty or off duty, including extraordinary valor, crime prevention, investigative work, community policing, traffic safety, drug control and prevention, juvenile programs and training programs. Cases run from homicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, robbery and cases involving mental illness.

Other nominees included: Officer Lisa Larkin, of the Pennsylvania State University Police Department; Detective Lucas Nelson, of the Spring Township Police Department; Detective Tom Snyder, of the Patton Township Police Department; and Criminal Investigator Andrew Stager, of the Pennsylvania State University Police Department.

The following information was released by the Centre County District Attorney's office, which highlights the reason why each award winner was chose:

Officer Macy Neideigh

Bellefonte Police Department

Beginning in June 2021 and ending in late January 2022, Centre County experienced an escalating rash of serious, violent crimes including car break-ins, armed burglaries and two armed robberies. The car break-ins included thefts of seven firearms including a rifle and six handguns. Armed robberies were committed in Bellefonte; an armed robbery and several armed burglaries in the State College Police jurisdiction; an armed robbery in Benner Township and two armed burglary attempts in Ferguson Township. As the year went on, the level of violence increased.

In November 2021, the defendant fired a bullet into the doors of the South Atherton CVS pharmacy to gain entrance and steal controlled substances. In December 2021, the defendant fired a 9mm bullet into a door of a South Atherton Street Rite Aid pharmacy, smashed the door and stole numerous controlled substances. In January 2022, he once again fired a 9mm bullet into the showcase window of a store at the Nittany Mall to gain entrance and steal money. On Jan. 3, 2022, the defendant approached a man at the Super 8 Motel in State College, pointed a firearm at him, made him take his clothes off and then robbed him. On Jan. 7, 2022, the defendant fired a bullet into the doors of a North Atherton Rite Aid pharmacy intending to steal controlled substances.

On Jan. 8, 2022, the defendant created a fake profile on a dating website. Via that website, the defendant arranged to have the victim meet a female at the Econo Lodge on Benner Pike. When the victim knocked on the agreed upon door, he was approached by the masked defendant who, at gunpoint, threatened to kill him and ordered the victim to place his wallet and phone on the ground. When the victim complied, the defendant kicked him and struck him in the head with his handgun.

Centre County law enforcement had concluded all of these incidents were likely committed by one individual, but had been unable to identify the defendant.

During the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022, Officer Neideigh was on patrol in Bellefonte Borough. She encountered and stopped a dark blue Chevrolet Malibu for traffic violations and a suspended registration.

During the traffic stop, Officer Neideigh recognized the female driver as the woman from the fake dating profile. She also noticed characteristics of the male occupant consistent with the description of the suspect. She took the suspects into custody and further investigation confirmed that the driver was the one responsible for all the crimes listed above.

Officer Neideigh is well known in Bellefonte as an officer who is invested in the community and keeping its citizens safe. She is diligent in her duties and as a result of these ethics, the enforcement of a small, relatively minor violation resulted in taking an offender off the streets whose crimes were escalating and was a real risk of seriously injuring or killing someone.

Detective Caleb Clouse

Ferguson Township Police Department

Detective Caleb Clouse of the Ferguson Township Police Department has been nominated for his efforts in solving a cold case homicide which haunted the community since Jean Tuggy was found shot in her Pine Grove Mills home in 2016. Despite diligent efforts the case grew cold, and in 2019 Detective Clouse was tasked with putting a fresh set of eyes on the investigation.

Detective Clouse reviewed the initial investigation and located a minute detail from an interview about a coworker who had shown romantic interest in the victim. That detail would break the case. Detective Clouse used that minor detail to identify the person as Christopher Kowalski, and confirmed that he had been a coworker of the victim's through 2014. Working with a digital forensics expert, Detective Clouse was able to locate Facebook conversations on the victim's hard drive showing Kowalski had been to the victim's home on prior occasions.

Detective Clouse discovered that Kowalski had purchased a 9mm handgun about a month before the murder and had sold the gun to a local gun shop about eight months later. He obtained the firearm from the new owners and a comparative analysis of a bullet shot from the firearm to those found in the victim revealed several shared characteristics including the caliber, the same rare type of rifling and other unusual markings.

In February of 2021 Detective Clouse interviewed Kowalski. Though Kowalski initially sought to explain away Ms. Tuggy's death, Detective Clouse -- through his persistent and professional questioning -- was able to achieve a full confession of how Kowalski killed Ms. Tuggy. Following trial in late 2022 Kowalski was found guilty but mentally ill of Murder in the First Degree and received a life sentence. Absent Detective Clouse's diligent police work, Kowalski would still be at large, and the community would still not have an answer as to who killed Jean Tuggy.