Two men accused of burglarizing a home in Murrysville and another in Penn Township on Friday morning were jailed after being arrested in Monroeville, according to court documents.
The suspects, Sebastian M. Montano 24, of Chicago, and Kevin D. Piza-Alzate, 24, of Reading, were both charged with burglary and criminal conspiracy for allegedly breaking into a house on the 7000 block of Fair Oaks Drive in Murrysville and at a house on Ramaley Road in Penn Township.
According to police, one of the suspects was photographed by a security camera inside the house and a security camera caught an image of a red car with a bike rack leaving the scene before police arrived, about eight minutes after being notified of the alarm.
“The homeowner was there when they broke in. When they saw her, they ran back out,” Murrysville police Chief Tom Kusinsky said.
Kusinsky said the suspects then went to another house just up the street, where one of the homeowners arrived home as the burglary was in progress.
That burglary was not mentioned in the affidavit police filed against the two men.
“Both homes had security cameras, so we were able to get a look at the vehicle,” Kusinsky said.
Armed officers checked both homes and stopped residents driving through the neighborhood to alert them of the situation. No injuries were reported.
While investigating the crime in Murrysville, police said they were notified of the burglary in progress at Ramaley Road, where a caller identified a red car in that area.
After police issued a bulletin to area departments to look out for a red car with a bike rack, Monroeville police stopped the vehicle at about 1 p.m.
Murrysville police said that the driver, Piza-Alzate, was wearing the same clothes as neighbors had seen worn by an occupant of the red car on Fair Oaks Drive, according to the affidavit. A Fair Oaks Drive resident spoke to the occupants of the red car and noticed the clothes they were wearing, police said.
A Murrysville police officer went to the scene of the arrest in Monroeville and allegedly saw the driver of the car was wearing the same clothing as a burglar caught on camera inside the house.
Police said that a woman with the two men who were arrested, also was taken into custody. No charges had been filed against the woman as of Friday night.
“We don’t know if the female was involved or not,” Kusinsky said, adding that videos show only two men involved in the burglaries.
Both suspects were arraigned Friday afternoon before Jeannette District Judge Joseph DeMarchis and placed in the Westmoreland County Prison. Neither man was able to post a bail.
Both men are scheduled for preliminary hearings before Murrysville District Judge Judith Petrush on March 17.