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Local police commended for efforts to catch suspects in 24 break-ins

By Harry Funk 2 min read
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During a string of summer break-ins, a pair of South Park Township businesses were targeted twice each.

“Obviously, when I got the phone call at 1 o’clock in the morning that a certain business was hit again, I was not happy. Not a happy camper,” township police Chief Dennis McDonough said. “We pride ourselves on dealing with these burglaries. And our people did.”

McDonough was among the law enforcement officials attending a Sept. 18 gathering in Peters Township to present 16 letters of commendation to police officers and detectives who were instrumental in solving a crime spree that started in June and eventually involved 24 commercial establishments in 11 municipalities.

On Aug. 11, Timothy Kelly, 19, Finleyville, and Scott Michael Davis, 32, of Eighty Four, were arrested and charged with numerous counts of burglary, attempted burglary, conspiracy, theft and criminal mischief.

“This was important from a lot of perspectives, not just the fact that we stopped these men from running rampant through two counties and wreaking havoc on our commercial establishments. It was an opportunity for us to work together, multiple agencies,” Peters Township police Chief Douglas Grimes said. “There was a strong desire to work together to solve this and bring it to a successful conclusion.”

Police from Peters, South Park, Bethel Park, Monongahela and North Strabane formed a task force on Aug. 4 to coordinate the investigative efforts.

“Through the analysis of video surveillance and biographical data, and through the investigators’ historical knowledge of the suspects, a determination was made to seek a court order for the placement of a tracking device on the primary suspect’s vehicle,” the letter of commendation states.

The state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Western Organized Crime Unit then assisted by placing the device and tracking the vehicle’s movements, leading to a traffic stop in West Mifflin during which Davis and Kelly were taken into custody.

Along with state police personnel, members of five municipal departments received commendations: Joelle Dixon and Ken Radinick, Bethel Park; Kevin Harris, Monongahela; Timothy Bliss, Abigail France, Benjamin Huminsky, Michael Krocsko and Nate Terling, North Strabane; Evan Caruso, Peters Township; and Shannon Henrich, Joshua Indof and Joseph Leonetti, South Park.

“I hope you take away from this some of these connections, some of the people you met and some of the knowledge of what can happen when we do work together and use the resources at our disposal,” Grimes said.

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