Police nab suspect from roof
A suspected burglar was arrested Wednesday evening after a failed rooftop getaway, Butler police said.
City officers ended up pulling down Cassandra L. Welsh, 28, of Cherry Township from her perch at the house on Olive Street that she is accused of burglarizing.
She also was allegedly caught with loot — a bag containing a small amount of money and other items of minimal value taken from the home.
District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Welsh on charges of burglary, theft and disorderly conduct. She was placed in the Butler County Prison before being released on $10,000 bail early Thursday morning.
Police said they were called about 5:30 p.m. for a burglary in progress at a home on the 400 block of Olive Street. The woman who lives there told officers she returned home from work and discovered that a front window had been opened.
She also found landscaping damaged, electrical wires for solar lights ripped from the ground and the yard littered with trash.
But that's not all she found: there was an unknown woman inside the home in one of the upstairs bedrooms, said Patrolman Nathan Shulik.
The homeowner briefly confronted the intruder, who police say was caught putting items into a drawstring bag also taken from the house.
The victim shut the bedroom door and called 911. A short time, her husband returned.
When police checked the house, they found the suspect had fled out a back window and onto a roof. But police did not immediately see her.
Later, one of the homeowners looked out a downstairs window and spotted a foot “sticking out from the (rear) roof,” Shulik said.
He and other officers ordered the woman, later identified as Welsh, to stand up and walk to the edge of the roof. She complied and they grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the ground.
A search of the bag, police said, turned up a pair of jeans, head phones, about $6 in currency and some Canadian coins. In all, the alleged stolen property was valued at about $150.
Shulik said he did not interview Welsh following her arrest. He noted that she did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The defendant, who apparently had no criminal record, told Haggerty at arraignment that she is single and the mother of two young children, and is employed as a photographer.
Welsh could not be reached for comment and online court records did not indicate if she has an attorney.
