VENANGO TWP — A suspected thief is accused of returning to the scene of the crime — again and again.

However, the third time was one too many.

That’s when the homeowner took matters into his own hands early Tuesday morning and — at gunpoint — held the suspect, 19-year-old Dylan J. Notaro of Venango Township, until state police arrived.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned Notaro on felony charges of burglary, trespass and theft, and misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief, theft from a vehicle and loitering and prowling at night.

Notaro is in the Butler County Prison on $30,000 bail.

Police suspect Notaro broke into a large, locked shed at Joseph Marinello’s farm on Bernadette Lane in Venango Township late Monday night, and stole a can of gasoline.

Notaro and Marinello are neighbors, said Trooper Robert Gambone, the investigating officer, so the break-in and theft were likely not random crimes.

Notaro next went to a car and stole a global positioning system device and a bottle of prescription painkillers, police said.

The teen then moved to a pickup truck at the home and allegedly stole more items including jumper cables.

He eventually walked to a barn and tried unsuccessfully to take an all-terrain vehicle, documents said. That’s when Marinello looked outside about 10:30 p.m. and saw the taillights of the ATV flashing.

The owner went out and confronted the suspect, who ran into the woods.

At some point, Gambone believes, Notaro returned and again tried to steal the ATV by hot-wiring it.

This time Marinello’s wife confronted the suspect, who again ran into the woods.

Police were called and got there shortly after midnight Tuesday. Troopers searched the area but did not find the defendant, who apparently hid under leaves near the house.

The officers left but again were called back about 3 a.m., when Notaro returned a third time. This time, there would be no getaway.

Marinello confronted Notaro and forced him, at the point of a gun, to remain standing in the front yard until police got there and arrested him.

Later, he confessed, said police, who noted that all the stolen items were recovered.

Gambone characterized the defendant as remorseful.

“He apologized,” the trooper said, “and admitted, ‘I screwed up.’”

Notaro’s preliminary hearing is May 3 at Stoughton’s office in Chicora.