State Police have cracked a theft case from Derry Township last June, arresting one man and obtaining an arrest warrant for another.
33-year-old Timothy Tarr, whom police say used to live in Slickville, in Westmoreland County but is now identified as being from Indiana County, is facing five counts each of felony burglary and criminal trespass, and five counts of misdemeanor theft for a break-in at the former Kennametal plant on Chestnut Ridge Road, a property now owned by C&D Coal Company.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 51-year-old John A. Kurtz of Greensburg, whom they were able to identify because of a tattoo of the rosary on his upper arm which matches one that is seen in surveillance video from the break-in. Police say Kurtz admitted in an interview with them that he was involved in the burglary, and that led to his friend Timothy Tarr. The investigation led to a McKeesport salvage yard, where records show Tarr received $1,771 for several hundred pounds of brass and copper. In all, the theft netted nearly a thousand pounds of copper and brass.
After an arraignment on Tuesday, District Judge Mark Bilik ordered Tarr held at the Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bond, pending a preliminary hearing on April 17th.
