Charges held for man accused of trying to break into Pechin through roof
A baker was startled last month when she saw a foot coming through the roof of Pechin Superfoods Market in Connellsville.
Charges were held for the alleged would-be burglar, Thomas Jefferson Beal, 48, of Dunbar after his preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr. Wednesday.
Security guard Stanley Angel testified that he lets the bakers into the store at about 2 a.m., secures the building and patrols the area. On Nov. 3, he followed his standard routine.
“The baker came outside and was waving her hands at me,” he said. “She said, ‘I think someone is in the building.'”
He said the baker told him she heard noises and saw a rope ladder coming down from an air vent in the ceiling. He testified he went inside with her.
“I saw a foot coming through the ceiling,” he said. “I said, ‘Get back! Get back!'”
He said the man went down three rungs of the rope ladder and then climbed back onto the roof.
Angel called 911, and police arrived. State police Trooper Ryan Butka testified they climbed onto the roof using a truck bed and crates and saw the rope ladder hanging through the air vent.
Butka said he found Beal on his hands and knees behind an industrial air conditioner. He said Beal told him he was sleeping there.
“He talked a lot,” Butka testified. “But he didn’t admit to anything.”
Beal is facing charges of burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief, according to court documents. He is lodged in Fayette County Prison in lieu of a $7,500 bond.
A formal arraignment is set for Jan. 21.