Timothy P. Roose

A Florida man pleaded guilty in Butler County Court Tuesday, after being charged with attempting to break into a Butler Township bank on Dec. 23.

Timothy P. Roose, 55, of Sunrise pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief and attempted theft before President Judge Thomas Doerr.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 4 to 12 months in Butler County Prison, followed by 1 year of county probation. Roose will also be ordered to pay restitution, court costs and fines. He is scheduled for sentencing on May 17 and continues to be held in the county jail on $20,000 bail.

Roose was initially charged after an incident at the Northwest Savings Bank, 151 Pittsburgh Road, Butler Township.

Butler Township police filed the charges after an investigation into the incident. Police said bank employees who arrived at work that morning discovered a hole smashed into the exterior bank wall, near the ATM and deposit box. Nothing was stolen. Police said the suspect used hand tools to attempt to break through the building's wall.

Using surveillance video police identified a suspect vehicle, which was found Dec. 26 parked at the Super 8 hotel on Pittsburgh Road, diagonal from the bank. Roose, who was in town working as an electrician, was found to be the owner of that vehicle, according to court documents.

Two days later, police said, Roose was found sleeping in his car at GetGo on North Main Street Extension. The vehicle was impounded and police later found a 4-foot long Klein Tools conduit bender as well as clothing worn by the suspect during the incident — including gloves, neck covering, cap and a dark jacket, the affidavit states.

The gloves and cap still had what appeared to be parts of the insulation from the bank wall sticking to them, and the tool also had remnants of the wall in the pipe handle, police said.