Police investigating after New Ken's Habitat for Humanity ReStore burglarized

A New Kensington nonprofit store dedicated to helping the less fortunate is still open for business despite being burglarized earlier this week, its executive director said.

Habitat for Humanity Allegheny Valley said someone broke into Habitat’s ReStore, which resells donated goods in the city’s Parnassus neighborhood, and made off with $150.

The theft occurred between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. Monday. New Kensington police are investigating.

“It does set us back. We’re a small, local charity,” said Executive Director John Tamiggi. “Every penny certainly counts. Being good stewards, we want to maximize every donation, every dollar.”

“It will certainly impact us, and with the covid issues and keeping (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) compliance, that’s challenging enough,” Tamiggi continued. “Now you’re dealing with making sure that burglaries aren’t ‘a thing.’”

Tamiggi said the suspect got inside by breaking down the garage door on the Church Street side of the building. The suspect also threw a brick through a window on the Freeport Street side of the building, but it only went through the first layer of the double-pane glass; it didn’t shatter the glass completely, Tamiggi said.

“The garage was locked and secured, but they busted it up pretty good,” Tamiggi said.

Tamiggi said the person was wearing a baseball cap and a mask one would wear in response to covid-19.

They made off with the store’s cash drawer and donation box. In all, they took $150.

The store does have security cameras, but they weren’t able to get a great shot of the suspect, Tamiggi said.

“Unfortunately, (they) had a mask and a baseball cap and used a flashlight to kind of navigate,” Tamiggi said. “We got, like, a silhouette image.”

New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer said police are continuing to investigate. There were no suspects as of Wednesday.

Deringer said his department is waiting for the store to provide video surveillence footage. However, Deringer said, the store has been having issues with the security system, so there might not be any footage available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department, Deringer said.

There have been thefts from the store in the past, but this is the first time it has been broken into and burglarized, Tamiggi said.

The nonprofit was operating as usual Wednesday.

“We’re fully operational,” Tamiggi said. “We made some updates to get our facility back in order since that break-in, and we’re full steam ahead.”