A Pittsburgh man was being held Thursday in the Butler County Prison after police said he broke into a Cranberry Township mini-mart, took the cash register and led police on 2-mile chase into a neighboring community.
Richard Nitkiewicz, 40, of the 1200 block of Duffild Street was arraigned yesterday by Slippery Rock District Justice Clifford Woessner on charges of burglary, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, possession of instruments of crime, criminal mischief and operating a vehicle while under a DUI-related suspension.
Nitkiewicz was taken to jail, where he remained yesterday, in lieu of a $50,000 bond, a prison official said.
Police said the chase began about 2 a.m. yesterday when a Cranberry Township police officer saw a maroon GMC Jimmy speeding out of the parking area of the Gulf Toot-n-Scoot along Route 19.
The officer pursued the sport utility vehicle after estimating that it was traveling 70 mph on Route 19.
The driver slowed to about 40 mph and continued for 2 miles before stopping, police said.
The driver pulled onto the shoulder of Route 19 South in Marshall Township, near the southbound ramp of Interstate 79, and then moved to the other side of the underpass before traveling on the I-79 entrance ramp about 200 feet before coming to a stop, police said.
While an officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the Butler 911 Control Center advised police that a security alarm had been set off at the Toot-n-Scoot.
When Cranberry officers responded to the Toot-n-Scoot, they found a glass door smashed, items scattered on the floor and counter and the cash register missing. The business was closed at the time of the break-in, and no one was inside.
Because the chase moved into Marshall Township, police from the Pine-Marshall-Bradford Woods Police Department also responded to the scene of Nitkiewicz's arrest.
As part of their investigation, Pine-Marshall-Bradford Woods police found the Toot-n-Scoot's cash register, which appeared to have been pried opened, on a hillside near the I-79 ramp and found the register's faceplate in Nitkiewicz's vehicle, according to police.
The amount of cash in the register had not been determined as of yesterday, police said.
In addition to the faceplate, police said they found a large piece of concrete, a pry bar, a toy gun, a black ski mask, black gloves and a black sweatshirt in Nitkiewicz's vehicle.
Police also said they found a Wal-Mart bag in the vehicle with a sales receipt that indicated a toy gun and pry bar had been purchased at the Cranberry store at 1:56 a.m., just before the break-in.
