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Home intruder suspect arrested

Man said he was sent there by God

CLEARFIELD TWP — A couple woke up Friday night to find an uninvited visitor in their home.

The intruder, who took nothing, told the homeowners he was sent there by God, state police said.

Troopers a short time later arrested the suspect, Randall W. Bittel, 31, of Cranberry Township, without incident.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned him on charges of felony trespass and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He also was cited for summary trespass.

Bittel remains in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.

The homeowners were sleeping at their house on Schiebel Road in Clearfield Township about 10:45 p.m. when the wife awoke to find a man standing in the doorway. “I’m Randy,” the intruder said, according to court documents.

She screamed for her husband, who got up and went downstairs after the suspect. The husband caught Bittel walking through the kitchen toward the back door.

The husband led Bittel into the living room, where they sat down and waited for police. While waiting, the defendant claimed “God had led him there,” a police affidavit said.

Troopers noted Bittel was “noncombative and did not physically resist throughout the incident.”

At his arraignment, he told Haggerty he is unemployed and has been recently staying at a halfway house for drug and alcohol abuse patients. The halfway house is on Schiebel Road, just a home or two from the victims’ house.

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