East Vandergrift man, alleged accomplice arrested for theft of motorcycle, other items

An East Vandergrift man and another from Springdale have been charged with multiple counts in connection with the theft of a motorcycle from a home on Franklin Avenue in Vandergrift late last month.

John William Ebner, 33, of McKinley Avenue, was arrested by Vandergrift police Sept. 4 and charged with felony counts of burglary, theft, fraud, receiving stolen property and other related offenses.

A second man, Devin Michael Beer, 22, of Springdale, was arrested as an accomplice. He was charged with conspiracy and receiving stolen property. Police say he helped Ebner transport items that Ebner is accused of stealing.

Police say an informant tipped investigators off that a stolen silver-and-blue 2003 Buell motorcycle was in Ebner’s garage, according to a criminal complaint filed in support of the charges.

Police obtained a search warrant for the property and found the stolen motorcycle, which had been spray-painted black, under a tarp in the garage, they said.

The license plate on the motorcycle also had been replaced with a tag from a motorcycle registered at an address in Ford City.

Ebner admitted to police during an interview that his garage also contained vehicle parts and other items he had stolen from the home of a deceased man on Chambers Street, authorities wrote in the complaint.

During the interview, Ebner told police that before he stole the Buell motorcycle, he tried to steal a 2005 Honda bike from another home on Franklin Avenue, but was unable to get it started because he had damaged the ignition.

Ebner and Beer face preliminary hearings on the charges before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. A date for the hearings has not yet been set.

The men did not have attorneys listed in court documents.