Three men tied to three stolen guns
Three young men — one of them already a felon — are jailed on felony charges after police say two of them were caught last week in a Butler apartment with three stolen handguns.
The other defendant is accused of stealing one of those guns, which belonged to his grandfather.
Dominic R. Hutchens, 21, and Logan E. Hunter, 19, both of Butler, are in Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail each. Alexander M. Rose, 18, of Butler is being held on $15,000 bail.
Butler police do not believe the trio is tied to a recent rash of home burglaries, some of which could be connected, Deputy Chief David Adam said Tuesday.
Rose's name immediately came up during the police investigation of a reported burglary Thursday at his grandfather's home on the 200 block of South Monroe Street.
The victim, Marlin Rose, told investigators he suspected that his grandson, who also lives at the home, broke into his upstairs bedroom, which is locked.
He said his grandson is not permitted in his bedroom.
The younger Rose allegedly stole bottles of whiskey and wine and a Hi-Point .45-caliber handgun.
Patrolmen Andrew Niederlander and Kory Fleming later found Rose carrying a bag in the area of Center and Fairview avenues. He let the officers search the bag, which contained the bottles of whiskey and wine believed taken from the elder Rose.
The defendant was taken back to the police station for questioning, during which, documents said, he admitted stealing the alcohol and pistol.
He claimed he had tossed the gun into the Connoquenessing Creek while walking across the Picklegate Bridge near Hansen Avenue in Butler Township.
“He lied,” Adam said of Rose's account of throwing away the gun in the creek.
By chance, police would recover the gun the next day.Police on Friday assisted Butler County juvenile probation officers in detaining Hunter at his apartment on the 200 block of West Brady Street. He was home, lying on a bed.While inside, Patrolman Nicholas Shulik found a loaded 9 mm Ruger pistol in the same bedroom, according to court documents. The gun was between the wall and mattress.Police checked the National Crime Information Center database and found that it previously was reported stolen in Butler Township. Lt. Matthew Pearson of Butler Township police said that gun was reported stolen Nov. 12 from a car on Main Street in Lyndora.In another room in the apartment, police said, they found Hutchens, who was lying on a mattress on the floor. Next to him were two guns — another 9 mm Ruger and a Hi-Point .45-caliber.That Ruger was stolen in Penn Township. The Hi-Point, it turned out, also was stolen and belonged to Marlin Rose.By law, police noted, Hutchens is prohibited from having a gun because his criminal record includes a conviction for a 2014 robbery in Butler.All three defendants were arraigned Friday.Rose faces charges including burglary, theft and receiving stolen property, all felonies.Hutchens is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property and illegal possession of a firearm, all felonies.Logan is charged with a felony count of receiving stolen property.
