New Kensington men deny stealing items from unlocked Lower Burrell cars

Two New Kensington men who police said went into unlocked vehicles in Lower Burrell last month told police they were drunk and looking for a lost cellphone, but denied going into cars to steal items inside, according to a criminal complaint.

Isiah C. Mangol and Darius Rasavn Johnson, both 19, told police Johnson lost his cellphone while they were at a party in the area of Jefferson Street the night of March 13, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint said they went back to the area early March 14 to look for the phone along with Isaiah Puryear, also 19 and from New Kensington.

Over the next two days, police said, they received six reports from residents along Jefferson Drive, Chestnut Street, Iowa Drive, Edward Street and Michigan Avenue reporting their unlocked vehicles had been entered overnight. Five people reported items were missing.

Police said home surveillance footage provided by residents showed Mangol, Johnson and Puryear walking in the area early March 14, with Mangol and Johnson entering vehicles.

The complaint said Mangol and Johnson denied going into cars but said they had been in the area looking for Johnson’s cellphone. When police told them about the surveillance footage, they said they had been drunk, according to the complaint. Johnson told police he might have opened a car door but didn’t steal anything, the complaint said.

None of the men was charged in the reported thefts, but police charged all three men with loitering and prowling at night and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.