A Butler man was arrested by state police after DNA evidence allegedly connected him to two separate vehicle thefts in Clearfield Township.

Ronald Raymond Piper, 47, was charged June 24 and is facing two third-degree felony charges.

On Oct. 21, state police responded to a disabled 2018 Ram pickup truck near Swartzlaner Lane in Clearfield Township. It was determined the vehicle had been stolen from Bear Road in East Franklin Township, Armstrong County. The address was in the immediate vicinity of a previous trespassing and fleeing incident Piper was a suspect in.

Later the same day, state police responded to a Honda Civic stolen from the parking lot of Oesterling Grinding & Feeds on U.S. Route 422, within walking distance of the previous incident.

That night, the stolen Honda Civic was located at the General Richard Butler Bridge.

State police forensic services collected DNA samples from the steering wheel, shifter and driver’s seat belt and got the results back in May. On June 22, state police received a report comparing it with the DNA sample from the first theft that implicated Piper.

Piper is awaiting a June 30 preliminary hearing in front of District Judge Lewis Stoughton.