State police have charged a Blairsville man with pulling off a burglary spree along between September 19th and October 14th, stealing guns and equipment from businesses and storage units along Route 22 in Derry Township.
43-year-old Michael Hamrock is facing 25 criminal charges, 17 of them felonies, including seven counts of theft, four counts each of criminal trespass and burglary, and two counts of receiving stolen property. Misdemeanor offenses include eight counts of criminal mischief.
Police say Hamrock, working at times with two accomplices who live in Derry Township, cut the locks off of eight private storage units and stole two rifles, a shotgun, a crossbow, a compound bow, and an ATV on September 19th. The weapons were sold to a firearms dealer in Indiana County, and the ATV was sold so they could buy a truck that was later used in other thefts.
This month, police say Hamrock stole a double-axle trailer from a drilling site, an equipment material handler from Penn Line Drilling Company, and three UTVs and a transport trailer from Diamond Technical Services.
The case broke when police got a tip about men trying to hide the stolen equipment in the woods near Buckhorn Lane. They got a search warrant and recovered most of the items, and also pulled over an accomplice driving a truck towing one of the stolen trailers, which had been painted red.
Hamrock is facing a preliminary hearing next Wednesday before District Judge Mark Bilik in Derry. He also has a drug possession case in Indiana County coming before District Judge Bob Bell in December.
The accomplices have not yet been charged.
Comments