Eric Powers

Approximately $3, two cell phone chargers and a bag of items valued at less than $200 was about the extent of the loot taken in last week's suspected burglary of the Visiting Nurses Association in Butler Township, authorities said.

But the alleged crook July 26 apparently left behind his own cell phone, which helped Butler Township police identify him.

Eric L. Powers, 38, of Butler Township was arrested and arraigned Thursday on felony charges of burglary and trespass, and misdemeanor charges of theft and criminal mischief. He is being held in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $15,000 bond.

Police said they were called shortly before 7 a.m. July 27 for a reported break-in at the VNA on Hindman Road. It appeared the suspect made his way inside through a window on the side of the building, according to investigators.

The glass window was broken and there was blood on the window screen, police said, which indicated the burglar was injured in the crime.

Once inside, police theorize that the suspect ransacked desk drawers, taking two iPhone charging cords, about $1 in change from one desk and $2 or so in change from a second desk.

While searching for clues, police said it appeared the suspect had collected a number of items that eventually were left behind.

Among the items placed in a box were several bottles of hand sanitizer from throughout the building, including a dispenser that was ripped from the wall in the kitchen. Two rolls of plastic wrap and a toaster oven had also been placed on a movable cart.

Additionally, police said they found a nylon bag they believe the suspect had filled with garbage bags and sanitary wipes. Next to the bag was a cell phone, which was dead, that police suspected belonged to the burglar.

During the investigation, an officer spoke to an employee at a neighboring business who recounted being approached by an unknown man about 4:10 a.m. July 27 when she arrived for work.

“The (man) advised her that he had lost his cell phone,” according to charging documents, “and asked her to call it, so he could locate it.”

The employee called the number but it went straight to voice mail.

On Tuesday, police reviewed video surveillance from that other business. The video, police said, showed a man breaking into the VNA at 9:17 p.m. July 26.

At 3:37 a.m. July 27, documents said, the video showed him leaving and carrying “a plastic bag full of items and a black suitcase type container.”

A township police officer looked at the video and recognized the suspect as Powers from a previous incident. The defendant lives nearby on North Duffy Road, police noted.

Investigators went to the home, but Powers was not there. A family member, however, allegedly identified Powers from photos of the suspect in the surveillance video.

Police said that they subsequently identified the cell phone recovered from the VNA as belonging to Powers.

A preliminary hearing for Powers is set Aug. 13. Court records showed that Powers is also facing preliminary hearings in four unrelated criminal cases.

Those other cases include possession of drug paraphernalia in both Butler Township and Butler, defiant trespass in Butler, and driving under the influence a controlled substance in Center Township. Online records did not list an attorney for him in any of the pending cases.