Harrison man, 80, testifies gunman taunted couple

HARRISON: An elderly township man testified Wednesday about how he and his wife were terrorized for almost an hour early this month by an intruder with whom he wrestled over a gun, and who taunted the couple at gunpoint to choose who wanted to die first.

Authorities said the suspect, Timothy J. Tomcheck, 36, of Bunola, is an ex-convict who has gone on a recent crime spree that was reckless and violent.

Tomcheck was arrested Aug. 21 after a police chase in which he crashed a stolen van in Brentwood. He was captured only after he tried to escape from a hospital where he was being treated for injuries sustained in the crash.

Tomcheck was held for court Wednesday in connection with the Harrison incident after Melvin Johnston testified that Tomcheck was the man who broke into his home at about 12:30 a.m. Aug. 8.

Johnston and his wife, Myrtle, are 80 years old.

Johnston testified before District Justice Carolyn Bengel that the incident started when his wife woke him because she had heard noises coming from outside the breakfast nook in their house. Johnston said he went to look and he saw a man using a screwdriver to pry open the window.

Johnston testified that he got his rifle but realized it was loaded with only birdshot, which wouldn't be an effective deterrent.

He went to get a handgun but by the time he loaded it and returned, the intruder, wearing a stocking over his head, was in the house.

The burglar wrapped his arms around Johnston and pinned him down, Johnston testified.

'We went into the living room, down over the chair,' Johnston said. 'He ripped the gun out of my hands and tore a big chunk out of my thumb.'

Johnston's wife grabbed the intruder's head and pulled off his stocking mask, according to court documents. Myrtle Johnston did not testify Wednesday, but her husband identified Tomcheck as that man.

Tomcheck ordered the Johnstons to stay in their bedroom on the bed while he got their valuables, Melvin Johnston testified. The suspect retrieved the valuables but then threatened the couple.

'He said, 'I'm going to shoot you,' ' Johnston testified. ' 'Which one of you wants to go first?' And then he said to me, 'Do you love your wife?' I said yes. 'Maybe I'll shoot her first. No, maybe I'll shoot you.' '

'I said, 'Please, there's no sense in shooting us,'' Johnston testified. 'You've got what you wanted.'

Tomcheck left their house with the rifle, pistol and both Johnstons' wallets, which included cash, credit cards and identification, Johnston testified. The Johnstons had to drive to the Harrison police station because Tomcheck cut their phone wires, Johnston testified.

Johnston testified that Tomcheck left their residence at about 1:45 a.m., indicating he stayed for about an hour. About 45 minutes later Tomcheck used Johnston's credit card to buy $10.62 worth of beer from Northside Beer and Beverage in Pittsburgh, according to court papers. During the beer purchase, Tomcheck used his driver's license as identification.

Allegheny County Police Detective Robert Alberts testified that the store's video surveillance tape matched the description of the burglar that the Johnstons gave to police. Also, police traced the driver's license to Tomcheck, Alberts testified.

Aug. 8 was not the first time Tomcheck had visited the Johnstons.

The day before the breakin, Tomcheck had given Johnston 'a cock-and-bull story about how he lost his job as a roofer,' Johnston testified. Tomcheck told Johnston he was in the Route 908 area trying to sell a Weed Eater to someone he thought lived near the elderly couple, Johnston testified.

Other than those two times, the Johnstons had never seen Tomcheck, Johnston said.

Tomcheck, represented by public defender Keith Donnelly, did not testify Wednesday. Tomcheck wore a goatee and had spider web designs tattooed on his arm.

A spokeswoman from the state Department of Corrections said Tomcheck has been in and out of the state prison system since August 1994.

Spokeswoman Sue McNaughton said the department's computer records show only his moves from one prison to the next and his entrance and release dates.

Tomcheck was released from prison Jan. 22 on charges of receiving stolen property from Allegheny County, McNaughton said. But at Wednesday's hearing, Allegheny County police said Tomcheck pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 1994.

They would not provide additional details about the 1994 incident, but said Tomcheck's invasion of Johnstons' house is not the only crime he has committed in recent months.

Tomcheck is charged with attempted robbery, theft, aggravated assault and terroristic threats in a July 30 case, Allegheny County Police said.

Tomcheck entered a Clairton residence and put a pillow case over a sleeping man's head, Allegheny County Police said. The man awoke and chased Tomcheck from the house, Allegheny County Police said.

Tomcheck also was charged with burglary, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property in a July 29 incident, also in Clairton, Allegheny County Police said.

Tomcheck allegedly broke into a friend's house in Clairton and stole 11 guns as well as the friend's truck, Allegheny County Police said. Police have recovered seven of those guns and the truck, which they found in nearby Waynesburg.

Allegheny County Police said Tomcheck abandoned the truck in Waynesburg and stole a van, the vehicle he was driving in Brentwood before his arrest. Brentwood police stopped Tomcheck Aug. 21 after they checked a license plate and it came back as a stolen conversion van.

Tomcheck then led police on a chase and wrecked the van. He was treated at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, for minor injuries and attempted to escape.

Bengel initially set a $25,000 straight bond for the July 29 incident, but Tomcheck refused to fill out his bond form, police said. Bengel then raised his bond to $100,000.

For all the charges against Tomcheck since July 29, his bond amount totals $450,000.

The charges that Tomcheck faces in the Harrison case include robbery, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault, theft and a firearms and a credit card fraud violation.

After Tomcheck's preliminary hearing Wednesday, Bengel also arraigned Tomcheck for the charges in the July 29 incident of burglary, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

Already at the Allegheny County Jail, Tomcheck faces at least another 20 years in prison if he is convicted of the recent crimes he's been accused of, according to Alberts.

Jonathan Szish can be reached at jszish@tribweb.com