Drugs blamed in rash of North Huntingdon break-ins
North Huntingdon police are seeking residents' help to solve six recent daylight burglaries, including one reported at noon Thursday on Colonial Manor Road.
The burglary yesterday on the western end of the township came just a few hours after police issued a press release requesting homeowners to be diligent in reporting suspicious activity because of five unsolved cases in the Ardara and Larimer areas near North Huntingdon's eastern border with Penn Township.
These break-ins within the past two months are separate from another series of recent burglaries in North Huntingdon and Penn Township that led to charges this month against three men, authorities said.
All of the cases, however, seem to be drug-related, as people in their teens or early 20s are stealing to get money for narcotics, according to police in North Huntingdon and Penn Township.
North Huntingdon police Sgt. Jeffrey Bouldin said the unsolved burglaries are similar in nature, with money, jewelry and guns among the items taken.
The perpetrator tends to park a vehicle in a rural neighborhood with wooded areas nearby, then walk to find an unoccupied residence, Bouldin said.
The person then knocks on doors to learn if anyone is home. If a resident answers the door, the perpetrator will ask about an occupant by name, the sergeant said.
Bouldin is requesting that residents secure their houses by locking their doors and windows and immediately call North Huntingdon police at 724-863-8800 if they see someone suspicious walking along a road or asking for information about a home after knocking on the door.
"We don't live in a society today where you can walk away from a house and it'll be safe," Bouldin said. "It's a shame, but that's how it is these days, not just in North Huntingdon, but everywhere."
In an incident on Scotch Hill Road at 5 p.m. Tuesday, a white male suspect in his 20s was seen on foot in the area. He is described as 5 foot 2 inches, weighing 135 pounds.
On another occasion, police said, a white man and white woman were seen in the Ardara/Larimer area in a blue car with a child safety seat in the back seat.
A Haywood Road resident, John Gesler, said some of his neighbors have been among the burglary victims in recent months. One home was hit twice, he said.
Gesler said he and his neighbors wanted police to notify residents sooner about the incidents.
"People are on edge," he said. "It scares the heck out of ya."
Meanwhile, a Baker School Road resident said it's rare for his windy, country road to have a rash of burglaries. His home is in a remote area where he has no water, sewage or gas service, and a crime spree is a series of smashed mailboxes.
"It's one of those things that when you have three robberies in a small area, this is a little on the scary side," said the man, who wished to remain anonymous. "You don't know when you're next."
Authorities already have solved some burglaries during the last few months in North Huntingdon and five in the Level Green village of Penn Township.
On Tuesday, Nathan Robert Weydener, 20, of 309 Fourth St., Trafford, and Joseph Hart, 26, of 14671 Winchester Road, North Huntingdon, waived their rights to preliminary hearings before Penn Township District Judge Helen Kistler.
Weydener and Hart both are charged in the May burglary of a home on Ardara Road in North Huntingdon.
Weydener is charged with another four in North Huntingdon and one in Penn Township. Hart is charged with three more in Penn Township and another in North Huntingdon.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Hart's alleged accomplice in two Penn Township burglaries, Nicholas Westwood, 24, of 710 William Dr., Penn Township, according to court records.
