Pair allegedly enters home to take items
VALENCIA — Two Beaver County residents are in Butler County Prison after police said they broke into a house on Sterrett Street.
Jason Edward Paola, 32, and Maria Anastasia Fennema, 22, both of Rochester, Beaver County, are charged with burglary, a first-degree felony, and criminal trespass, a third-degree felony, after allegedly entering a house without permission and taking items. Paola faces an additional charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, an ungraded misdemeanor.
According to Officer Christopher Kopas' affidavit, Adams Township Police were dispatched to a Sterrett Street house just after midnight Sunday for a reported burglary. Upon arrival, three residents alerted police of two people inside the house on the second floor. Kopas shouted up to the second floor, the affidavit states, and received a reply from Fennema.
Following that, police said, both suspects were placed in handcuffs and placed in separate vehicles while police interviewed witnesses. The story police put together from their statements was that Fennema allegedly believed she had permission from the homeowner to enter the residence and retrieve property from it. Paola drove her to the house and both entered using a hidden key, police said, without knocking before entering or announcing their presence once inside.
The home's occupants became aware only when Paola and Fennema entered a second-story bedroom occupied by three individuals, including two juveniles, the affidavit states, and Fennema told them she had permission to enter before taking property out to the vehicle.When police questioned the two suspects, Fennema said a note inside the door said she had permission to enter, although Kopas' affidavit states the note “provided no information showing consent.” She then said the homeowner granted her permission via a social media messaging application.“With her permission, I viewed the messages, which did not show any indication of permission to enter the residence,” the affidavit reads.Police allegedly found a crack pipe and wads of copper scrub pad inside the vehicle, which Paola said he possessed.Both Paola and Fennema remain in Butler County Prison in lieu of $7,500 bail. No attorney is listed as representing them in court documents.
