Mar 17, 2014 2 min read

Two daylight burglaries were reported March 14 in the Sunset Hills area of Mt. Lebanon, with one homeowner being confronted by the burglar, Deputy Chief Aaron Lauth said.

In both burglaries, the homes had unlocked doors.

The first incident involved a homeowner in the basement of his Jonquil Place house who heard sounds of someone upstairs. Thinking it was his wife returning home shortly after noon, the man went upstairs and found an unknown man in the house, Lauth said. The man told the homeowner he was for looking for someone else and had made a mistake. The burglar then turned and went out an unlocked front door.

The burglar is a white man in his mid-to-late 40s, about 6-feet tall and weighing about 240 pounds. He has a round face and was wearing dark blue cargo pants, dark blue jacket and dark blue baseball cape, Lauth said. Nothing was taken in the burglary.

A second house on Audubon Avenue was entered in the afternoon through an unlocked rear door. Stolen were prescription medication in the bathroom and an unknown amount of coins from the living room, Lauth said. The homeowners were not at home.

Police are not certain if the two burglaries are connected.

Lauth said this is the time of the year when solicitors are in municipal neighborhoods. Solicitors, Lauth said, must register with the municipality and carry identification. Solicitors may interact with property owners and supply identification.

There are also groups that walk through the neighborhood and simply leave an advertisement in or near the door, Lauth said. Those distributing the pamphlets are not to knock on the door or to interact with the property owners, and do not need to register.

Lauth said the recent incidents could be part of a plan where someone canvasses the neighborhoods, grabs a group of the pamphlets from doors, then proceeds to other areas placing the advertisements on other doors to determine if those doors are unlocked.

The deputy chief advises anyone who sees a suspicious person to call 911 immediately.