A Pittsburgh man charged in connection to a home invasion and burglary in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood is linked to other crimes in the city and the Alle-Kiski Valley, police say.
Jerry Chambers, 59, was arrested last week by Verona police on theft charges.
This week, Chambers was charged in connection with robbing a home in the 1600 block of Beechwood Boulevard and threatening teenagers on Nov. 29, according to a criminal complaint. Charges against Chambers include theft by unlawful taking, unlawful restraint and reckless endangerment.
According to a criminal complaint, Chambers was an accessory to the entry into a Squirrel Hill home at around 1:30 p.m. Nov. 29 when a 14-year-old and 15-year-old were home alone. The teenagers told police a masked man, who police are still looking to identify, said he would kill them if they talked to police, the complaint said.
Ring video footage shows that masked man breaking in through a side door with a crowbar, the complaint said. Items reported stolen include about $19,000 in cash, a student ID card, metal bracelets and a fake Rolex.
City cameras showed Chambers before and after the incident as a driver in a white GMC pickup truck, according to the complaint.
Chambers was denied bail and is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
The masked man, who police are still looking for, is white, approximately 6-feet-tall, 220 pounds, with blue eyes, wearing a black tassel cap, black peacoat, khaki pants and carrying a black shopping bag with red handles and a heart-shaped logo on it, according to police.
People with information are asked to call 412-422-6520 and ask for plainclothes detectives.
On Nov. 28, according to Verona police, a group of men wearing masks — Chambers allegedly being one of them — tried to steal a vehicle’s license plate in Verona. The group left in a GMC pickup truck, police said.
That same pickup truck was located at the scene of the Cheswick Sheetz on Dec. 1, police say, when a group of four juveniles tried to steal a PNC ATM from the Sheetz. Police believe Chambers was not at that scene.
Verona police arrested Chambers on Dec. 2 when he returned the truck to an Enterprise in Verona. There, he was charged with possessing instruments of crime, dealing with titles and plates for stolen vehicles and attempting to alter, forge or counterfeit documents.
Pittsburgh police wrote in court papers they believe Chambers is a suspect in multiple, current felony cases they are investigating from August to November.