Attempted burglary case held
A Butler man will continue to be held in county jail after attempted burglary charges against him were bound over to county court during a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Blood and damage to doors on two residences on Kayla Lane, Jefferson Township, led to two counts each of attempted burglary and criminal mischief being bound over to Butler County Court of Common Pleas during the hearing before District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg.
Douglas B. Spink, 46, continues to be held in Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail on this case, as well as $25,000 in an unrelated case, pending further court proceedings. He is scheduled for formal arraignment on the burglary charges on March 27.
Trooper David Naberezny testified during the hearing that he was dispatched to 104 and 105 Kayla Lane for reports of attempted burglaries on Oct. 6.
There he found blood around two damaged doors — one in the front of one of the residences and the other in the back of the second residence, “caused by an unknown object striking the door.”
No other damage was found, he said.
Blood samples were taken by forensics technicians but have yet to be tested, he said.
Earlier a report of a man in a field bleeding from the legs at 110 Winfield Road, Jefferson Township, was received, and Spink was identified as that man.
Trooper Hunter Pollock testified that he responded to the area of Winfield and Neupert roads, where Saxonburg Ambulance was treating the man.
Pollock said Spink was treated with Band-Aids by the emergency personnel and did not require any further treatment before he was released from the scene.
Naberezny testified that Spink told police that he had driven his vehicle through the field into the woods at 115 Nittany Lane, Cabot, which is near the location, to let his service dog off leash before going home.
When he returned to the vehicle and let his dog in, the dog reacted to something inside the vehicle and Spink fell out, cutting his finger before running through the woods to the houses searching for help, Naberezny testified.
At that time no report had been made regarding the burglaries, police said.
Police said they believed Spink attempted to break into the homes.
“Knocks don't leave damage,” Naberezny testified. “There was some force used to attempt to gain access.”
Spink's attorney, assistant public defender Ryan Helsel, argued that the attempted burglary charges should be dismissed because Spink was “distressed and bleeding” looking for help when he knocked on the doors.
“He had no intent to commit a crime,” he said.
Assistant District Attorney Russell Karl argued that Spink was not distressed, as he only needed Band-Aids for his wounds, and “substantial force” was used to attempt to enter the homes.
Spink is also awaiting a preliminary hearing on March 19 for felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges stemming from a more than two-hour standoff during which he allegedly wielded a machete in an alley between Fulton and Pearl streets on Nov. 25.
