Suspected burglar turns himself in
SAXONBURG — A man suspected of burglarizing two stores in Butler County on the same day turned himself in to authorities Monday.
Police believe Brandon S. Wissinger, 26, of Saxonburg was part of a crime duo that broke into the BP/Fueland in Buffalo Township in January.
Less than 90 minutes later, according to court documents, Wissinger and accomplice Casey S. Huffman, 27, of Cranberry Township struck again — this time at a sandwich shop in Penn Township.
But that was not the end of the pair's alleged crime spree. Still that same day, investigators said, they showed up at a Winfield Township salvage yard with a truck full of scrap for sale.
The next day, they committed yet another theft, state police said, in Forward Township.
Wissinger on Monday appeared at the office of District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg for arraignment on charges in the two store break-ins Jan. 21.
Buffalo Township police allege Wissinger and Huffman just after 2 a.m. used a red baseball bat to smash a glass door in back of the BP/Fueland store on Ekastown Road.
Once inside, documents said, they stole cigarettes and wielded the bat to break open a cash register, which turned out to be empty. They fled the store.
About 3:30 a.m., they drove to Penn Township where they forced in a door at the Freedom Farms Sandwich Shop in the 700 block of Route 8.
They allegedly stole more than $200 in currency and several cans of energy drinks.
While in the store, documents said, they vandalized the surveillance system after fearing a security camera had caught them on video.
However, unbeknownst to them, a surveillance camera at the BP/Fueland had caught them in the act of that crime, police said. Investigators credited those captured images of the men for helping solve the crime.
Penn Township police said after leaving the sandwich shop, Wissinger and Huffman walked over to United Landscape Supply, which is located in a separate building on the same property.
They kicked in a door of a shed at the landscape business and stole several items from a pickup truck inside.
Haggerty arraigned Wissinger on multiple counts of burglary, trespass, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief, and other charges of conspiracy and possessing an instrument of crime in the connection with the crimes in Buffalo and Penn.
He was later released on $10,000 unsecured bail.Huffman, who is being held in the Butler County Prison, faces similar charges.But both defendants have still other pending cases.State police suspect the pair later in the day Jan. 21 drove to Jon Garvin Auto Salvage in Winfield Township with stolen commercial truck parts they wanted to sell, court documents said.Troopers caught on to the defendants' scrapping scheme and arrested them at the salvage yard. Police believe Wissinger was impaired by drugs when he drove there.Both suspects are charged in that case with misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property. Wissinger also is charged with driving under the influence of drugs.Wissinger and Huffman are also charged with another theft Jan. 22 in Forward Township.Huffman, meanwhile, on Feb. 4 was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in state prison following his guilty plea in Butler County Court to a charge of felony drug possession that state police filed in July.
