Carlisle Borough Police say Nathaniel Boles, 31, drove a stolen 2012 Honda Civic through the front of the Chili’s at 2 Houser Lane in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the morning of Nov. 5, 2026, and then threw rocks through the windows. Police said the call came in at about 9:06 a.m. and described a disgruntled ex-employee who had driven through the front of the building and was throwing rocks through the glass. The restaurant wasn’t open to customers yet. According to the affidavit of probable cause, five employees were inside: one was mopping a few feet from where the car came to a stop, and the others were at the bar and in the kitchen. All five ran to a neighboring business. crimewatch wgal
The business next door was a Dunkin’. “We had the Chili’s workers running from the back, and running over here so they could take refuge in our place,” Dunkin’ employee Eleanor Kunick told WHP-TV. Nobody was hurt. Even so, the top charge against Boles is a first-degree felony, the same grade Pennsylvania uses for some of its most serious assaults. The car is the main reason, along with what police say he told officers about the people inside.
A Civic reported stolen on East High Street at 4:40 a.m.
The incident started more than four hours before the crash. According to the department’s arrest release, Carlisle Borough Police took a stolen-vehicle report at 4:40 a.m. from the 100 block of East High Street. A man dressed in black had been seen getting into the car and driving out of the borough, and investigators identified him as Boles. The affidavit, as WGAL reported, says cameras recorded him getting into the silver Civic. It also says he admitted taking the car and driving it to Mechanicsburg before coming back to Chili’s. wgal
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According to the affidavit, Boles told officers he had been fired from Chili’s in September and was upset with employees who still worked there, who he said used to “bully” him. The affidavit doesn’t say why he was fired. Police said the employees inside identified him, and he was arrested at the scene without incident.
The affidavit puts the damage at more than $5,000. Police described it as moderate and said the restaurant would close temporarily. An officer at the scene told WGAL that every window on that side of the building had been blown out.
Seven charges, from a first-degree felony down to a summary traffic offense
Police filed seven charges, and the grade of each one shows how the case is built:
- Aggravated assault under subsection (a)(1), a first-degree felony
- Aggravated assault under subsection (a)(4), a second-degree felony
- Risking catastrophe, a second-degree felony
- Criminal mischief, a third-degree felony
- Theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony
- Recklessly endangering another person, five counts, each a second-degree misdemeanor
- Driving while suspended, DUI-related, a summary offense
The arrest release says Boles was arraigned on Nov. 5. It doesn’t list bail, the magisterial district judge, or a preliminary hearing date, and none of the coverage I reviewed named a defense attorney. The release notes that Boles is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
How a car turns a grudge into an aggravated assault charge
Aggravated assault in Pennsylvania doesn’t require that anyone be hurt. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702, the first-degree version applies to someone who “attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another.” The attempt is enough. The second-degree count under (a)(4) covers anyone who attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to another “with a deadly weapon.”
Pennsylvania doesn’t keep a list of objects that count as deadly weapons. Section 2301 defines a deadly weapon by how it’s used: a device or instrumentality that, in the way it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. A 2012 Civic parked at the curb is just a car. Driven through the front of a restaurant toward a worker with a mop, prosecutors can argue it meets that definition.
Intent is what prosecutors have to prove for both assault counts, and the affidavit gives them more evidence of it than most crashes into buildings do. According to the affidavit, Boles said he drove into the restaurant knowing employees would be inside. Without that statement, a defense lawyer could argue this was property damage aimed at a building, which would fit the criminal mischief charge. With it, and with an employee standing a few feet from where the car stopped, the Commonwealth has an attempted-injury argument. A preliminary hearing will test whether that argument is strong enough to send the felonies to county court. The statement itself could also be challenged there. wgal
The five reckless endangerment counts work more simply. Pennsylvania charges recklessly endangering another person once for each person placed in danger. Five employees were inside, so there are five counts.
The traffic charge carries a mandatory jail term
The lowest-graded charge on the list is the only one that comes with a guaranteed sentence. Police say Boles was driving while his license was suspended for a DUI-related reason. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1543(b)(1), that is a summary offense, the same category as a typical traffic ticket. A conviction, however, requires a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. PennDOT then adds another year to the suspension. The felony counts give a judge a range of sentences to choose from. The suspended-license charge, if it ends in a conviction, does not.
The theft charge is a third-degree felony for a similar reason. Pennsylvania grades the theft of any motor vehicle as a felony regardless of its value, so a 14-year-old Civic is treated the same as a new car. Someone who had driven off with a $1,500 television would usually face a lower grade.
Who pays for the storefront and the Civic
If Boles is convicted, Pennsylvania’s restitution statute requires the court to order full restitution. That would cover the Chili’s storefront and whatever the Civic’s owner paid out of pocket. Restitution ordered against someone who was out of work at the time often takes years to collect, though. In the meantime, the restaurant’s property insurer covers the building. The Civic’s owner, whose car was taken from a downtown street before sunrise, gets paid for their own car only if they carry comprehensive coverage, and they pay the deductible either way.
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Kunick also pointed out the cost to the restaurant’s staff, who aren’t earning while the building is boarded up. “It puts people out of a job and money for a while,” she told WHP. Those lost shifts aren’t part of any charge, and Pennsylvania restitution law doesn’t treat employees’ lost wages from a temporary closure the way it treats the owner’s repair bill.
Next step is a preliminary hearing
The case goes next to a preliminary hearing before a Cumberland County magisterial district judge. The Commonwealth only has to make a prima facie case there, but that hearing is where the felony counts are either sent up to the Court of Common Pleas or reduced. The two aggravated assault counts come down to whether the statement in the affidavit holds up and whether a judge accepts that driving into the restaurant was an attempt to hurt the people inside. If either count is dropped, the case is mostly about property damage. The 60-day mandatory term on the suspended-license charge would remain either way.
Police say Boles made his intent clear to officers. Should Pennsylvania be able to charge first-degree aggravated assault, its top assault grade, when a car hits a building and everyone inside walks away unhurt? Or does that grade wait for an injury?
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