SUMMIT TWP — A man is accused of drilling a hole through the wall of a neighbor’s apartment so he could stare into her bedroom, state police said.

Police on Saturday arrested 44-year-old Russell J. Harnish on charges of stalking, attempted invasion of privacy and criminal mischief.

He was arraigned on the misdemeanor and summary charges, and placed in Butler County Prison on $30,000 bail.

Troopers were called Aug. 23 to the Eastwood Village apartment complex on Route 68, where a woman told police she noticed that a hole had appeared in the wall near her front door.

She knew that the common wall is shared with Harnish’s apartment. She also knew he had an infatuation with her, according to court documents.

The defendant, police said, had previously left a note on the woman’s door proclaiming his love for her.

She told police that she did not respond to the note and tried to ignore Harnish’s crush on her.

Police on Aug. 24 went to Harnish’s apartment and did not immediately find a hole in the wall. But after removing a clothes hanging post from the defendant’s bedroom wall, troopers found the small hole.

“The hole was drilled where it could be visible to see into the victim’s apartment,” according to a police affidavit, “and especially where the victim’s bed is positioned.”

Questioned about the finding, Harnish told troopers that he “doesn’t know why he did it and realized it was wrong,” court documents said.

Harnish has a hearing Sept. 17 when District Judge Lewis Stoughton of Chicora will determine if there is enough evidence to send the case to criminal court.