Two teens charged in burglary
Uniontown police caught two city teens burglarizing the home of an elderly woman on Braddock Avenue Wednesday afternoon. Sgt. Jonathan Grabiak said police were summoned to the area for a report of suspicious activity at 3:17 p.m. Grabiak said a U.S. mail carrier delivering mail in the area reported that she noticed two teen boys knocking on the door of the home of Loretta Winski, 90, of Uniontown. The mail carrier, who was not identified, said that after no one answered the door, she watched the teens wiping their handprints from the door of the residence, Grabiak said.
The mail carrier told police she then watched the teens go to the rear of the home. At that point, the mail carrier told officers that she called her husband who in turn reported the activity to police, Grabiak said.
Grabiak said he and Officer Jamie Holland arrived at the home less than two minutes after Fayette County 911 dispatched officers to the home and immediately spotted two teens trying to run from a basement door at the home.
The officers were able to catch both suspects and take them into custody.
Grabiak said police found the teens with $100, a cellular telephone, a package of ice cream bars and other items.
He said that police also discovered that the teens had broken a screen door, then removed a piece of glass to gain entry to an interior door. Grabiak said the interior door had been kicked in.
He noted that the homeowner was not at the residence when the burglary occurred.
Grabiak said the two 16-year-old boys were each charged in Fayette County Juvenile Court with burglary, theft and criminal mischief.
The teens were placed in the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center following their arrest.