Police think suspect took car, returned
A two-time felon faces a hearing next week on charges he stole a car from a parking lot in Butler.
On Oct. 11 the alleged thief drove the vehicle to a local store to buy cigarettes, Butler police said. The car was later returned to the same parking spot where it had been taken,
Police on Wednesday arrested Travis J. Zaborowski, 27, of Cheswick, Allegheny County in the investigation. He is charged with theft, a felony, and a separate count of theft from a vehicle, a misdemeanor.
Officers began investigating the case shortly after 4 a.m. Oct. 11, when they were notified of a pair of suspected crimes at a parking lot on the 300 block of West Jefferson Street, police said.
One of the victims reported that he had gone outside to find his 2012 Honda Civic missing from the lot outside an apartment building, according to court documents. He apparently had left a spare key in the unlocked car.
Another man told police that his vehicle, an Acura, was ransacked in the same lot. Missing were his wallet and a digital camera.
The next day, the owner of the Honda notified police that the car had been returned. It was found Oct. 12 parked in the same spot in the same lot.
Missing from the Honda, however, were numerous DVDs, video games, a Super Nintendo game console and $8 worth of coins.
Security cameras at and near the apartment building provided investigators with immediate clues.
Police said surveillance footage showed the suspected thief, wearing a baseball shirt, shorts and a “man bun” hair style, enter the Acura before walking over to the Honda.
He drove out of the lot in the Honda, documents said.
City cameras collected images of the car traveling on West Birch Street and turning onto West Jefferson Street. The vehicle eventually pulled into the A-Plus convenience store.
The driver, who police recognized as Zaborowski, was seen on store surveillance walking into the A-Plus and buying cigarettes with coins, documents said.
Before city officers could find the defendant, Butler Township police arrested him about 2:50 p.m. Oct. 12 after getting a call for a suspicious man at Chesapeake and Main streets.
Township officers said they found Zaborowski “highly intoxicated.” According to a police report, he was yelling, singing, flailing his arms and staggering.
He was placed in the Butler County Prison on a probation violation. Township police subsequently charged him with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness
He was arraigned Wednesday on the city charges. He is being held in the county prison on $7,500 bail and on a probation detainer.
A preliminary hearing in the theft case is set for Oct. 30 at the office of District Judge William Fullerton.
Zaborowski's criminal record shows he has two felony convictions, including one for theft. He also has two misdemeanor theft convictions.
