Site last updated: Thursday, March 28, 2024

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Police reveal home invasion details

Jeremiah McGrady
Teens planned crime spree

KARNS CITY — A pair of restless teenage brothers, maybe looking for something to do, decided to go on a crime spree Saturday.

Their plan: under the cover of night, break into homes or other places. Steal.

They donned gloves, masks and dark clothing. They armed themselves — one with a large knife and the other with an Airsoft gun.

They headed out, first hitting a church on Route 268 in Fairview Township. A short walk down the road into Karns City, the brothers came to a house on Olive Street. It looked like an easy target.

The back door was open, protected only by the unlocked screen door. The two walked in. Little did they know, the family was inside sleeping.

A bloody and violent confrontation was moments away.

State police revealed the events of early Saturday morning they say were provided in detailed confessions by the suspects — 19 year-old Jeremiah B. McGrady, and 17-year-old Zechariah J. McGrady, both of Fairview Township.

The brothers were arrested Sunday on attempted homicide and other charges in the investigation.

The defendants are accused of attacking Adam Bell after breaking into his house on Olive Street about 2 a.m., intending to loot the home of cell phones and other belongings.

But before the intruders could stuff valuables into a gym bag they brought with them, Bell, 34, woke up to get a drink. Still sleeping was his wife and the couple’s two young children.

Bell confronted the crooks in his kitchen. Zechariah McGrady, during an interview with police, admitted he pulled the Airsoft pistol and pointed it at the victim, according to court documents.

The boy told the man not to move. The order was punctuated with profanity.

Bell was not intimidated, the teen recounted. The homeowner snatched the fake gun and smashed it. Bell then moved onto the boy, hitting him on the head.

The brothers headed for the door, for their own safety, documents said. But Bell followed them outside, they said.

The homeowner pushed. Zechariah to the ground and began punching the boy. The older brother stepped in. But before long, Bell was getting the better of Jeremiah.

While the brothers teamed up against the older man, Jeremiah reached for his serrated knife with an 8-inch blade.

He told police that he bought the knife online just two week earlier.

“(Jeremiah) admitted to stabbing the victim multiple times,” a police affidavit said.

Bell was badly hurt with life-threatening injuries that would require five hours in surgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh to repair severed arteries.

Later that evening, he had recovered enough to speak by telephone with police investigators.

He recalled the confrontation with the suspects and remembered being stabbed twice in the back, documents said. But he kept fighting, and suffered “a few more stab wounds.”

Eventually, he became “very dizzy” and started losing consciousness. He managed to walk back into the kitchen where he collapsed onto the floor.

Paramedics were first to treat him before a medical helicopter flew him to AGH.

First-arriving troopers recounted seeing “large amounts of blood” inside and outside the house. They also recovered an Airsoft pistol, a gym bag and blue ski mask, all allegedly belonging to the suspects.

The McGrady brothers’ names came up Sunday while investigators spoke to a friend of the defendants. The suspects, police said, admitted to the friend what they did. Troopers went to the McGradys’ home at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, and took them into custody.

During his purported confession, Jeremiah admitted to another burglary in late August. He recalled how he broke into the home on Main Street in Karns City, and stole a television, camera, jewelry and electronic items.

Police on Sunday got a search warrant for the McGrady home and recovered the stolen items, documents said.

Both brothers are charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and burglary, in the home invasion. Jeremiah McGrady is charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief in the earlier break-in. The older suspect is in Butler County Prison on $175,000 bail. Zechariah. McGrady is in an undisclosed juvenile detention facility.

Police said it would be up to the district attorney to decide if the younger suspect would face charges in adult or juvenile court.

More in Local News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS