Kittanning teen to be charged in connection with stealing $10,000 in goods from Harrison, Fawn

At least two homes in Harrison and another in Fawn appear to have been targeted for thefts after residents posted items for sale on social media.

Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said charges are pending against a 17-year-old boy from Kittanning in connection with all three incidents, which occurred June 19.

More than $10,000 in dirt bikes, triathlon bicycles and equipment were stolen from two Harrison homes on Central and Harbison streets. A suspect entered the properties overnight and cut the locks on sheds to take the items, which included a Husqvarna dirt bike and an aluminum ramp.

On the same night, a dirt bike was stolen from a property in Fawn. Officers there were able to use surveillance footage to identify a truck, which Turack said his officers tracked to Armstrong County.

“We applied for a search warrant, seized evidence and located a person who had found one of the dirt bikes in the woods,” he said.

Other items were recovered in a vacant house and garage.

Turack urges people to use caution when posting items for sale on Facebook and other social media sites.

“We believe that too many details on the bikes’ locations were made available, and we believe that is why the victims were targeted,” he said.

“We caution residents to not include identifiable areas of their property in the posts. Take photos of whatever they’re selling in a non-descript location. And don’t post addresses on social media or even through private messaging.”

He encouraged people to meet in a public place for sales transactions, like the designated space outside the township police office.

Harrison police plan to offer a free public session this fall on how to protect themselves from marketplace scammers. Details are forthcoming.

Lower Burrell incidents

Similarly, Lower Burrell police are reminding people to lock their vehicle doors and remove any valuables from their cars.

The department has received several reports of vehicles being entered overnight this week along Carl Avenue, Reed Street, Michigan Avenue, 2500-2700 blocks of Leechburg Road, Chester Drive and Chestnut Street.

Anyone with video footage is asked to call police at 724-339-4287, ext. 4.