Police: Burglar left shoes behind as he ran from Brackenridge home

A Brackenridge woman came face-to-face with a burglar at her kitchen door who ran off, leaving his shoes behind, according to borough police.

Brackenridge police charged Eric Randall Thompson, 41, of New Kensington with two felonies, burglary and criminal trespass, and misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property.

According to a criminal complaint against Thompson, Brackenridge officers responded to a reported burglary in progress on Sixth Avenue around 1 a.m. Monday.

Officers were told the woman had gone from her bedroom to her kitchen, where she found a window and the back door open. Dispatchers then said a man was holding the now-closed back door.

The woman told police the man let go of the door knob and ran toward Sixth Avenue.

The woman told police she was not hurt in any way.

Tarentum officers found a man, Thompson, matching the suspect’s description in the area of Seventh Avenue and Harrison Way as he was getting into a pickup, the complaint states.

At the victim’s house, an officer had escorted the woman to the back porch where she saw a pair of black-and-gold Nike shoes and said, “these are not mine.” Tarentum officers confirmed the man they had detained had no shoes on, just socks.

Officers searched Thompson and allegedly found a bluetooth speaker and a cardboard box containing makeup. The woman identified them as her possessions and said they had been on her kitchen counter.

Thompson was arraigned and sent to the Allegheny County Jail on $5,000 bail.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7 before District Judge Carolyn Bengel.