Uniontown man charged with attempting to break into house with sledgehammer
A Uniontown man was jailed after being accused of attempting to break into a home with a sledgehammer.
Robert Edward Rankin III, 30, was charged Tuesday with criminal trespass-breaking into a structure, possessing instrument of crime with intent, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct before on-call Magisterial District Judge Nathan Henning on Tuesday evening.
Uniontown police responded to Maurice Street in Uniontown at 4:11 p.m. for the report of a man attempting to break into the house with a sledgehammer. When police arrived, they encountered the suspect outside of the residence.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Rankin said, “Arrest me[;] I broke down the back door to get inside.” Rankin then turned around, placed his hands behind his back and said, “I did it[;] just take me to jail,” court documents state.
Police handcuffed Rankin and placed him in a police car before speaking with Briana Knox, resident of the house.
Knox told police that Rankin had not lived at her home for around two months and had become increasingly irrational over the previous few weeks, calling her and advising her that he was coming to her residence for a few days and that he had been sleeping on a neighbor’s porch. She added that Rankin called her the day of the incident and said he was coming to her home with a sledgehammer, the complaint states.
Police said Rankin showed up, walked through her backyard and knocked at the door, but Knox refused to open the door. He then allegedly struck the door with the sledgehammer, according to the complaint. Knox’s family members stopped Rankin, who had extended his hands into the door and was reaching for the knob, police said.
Police located the sledgehammer on the back porch and confiscated it. Rankin allegedly said he bought the sledgehammer to break down the door and that police could keep it because he doesn’t need it. The door was destroyed.
Rankin is lodged in the Fayette County Prison with bond set at $40,000.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Oct. 26 before Magisterial District Judge Michael Metros.