Vandergrift man arrested at gunpoint, charged in break-in

Vandergrift police say a woman’s former boyfriend was arrested at gunpoint inside her kitchen Monday after she barricaded herself in the attic and called 911 when she heard somebody break into her home.

Adam Richard Younkins, 24, of the 100 block of Lowell Street was charged Monday, Aug. 28 with felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass along with counts of theft and resisting arrest. He was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $20,000 cash bond to await a Sept. 5 preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.

Police responding to a house on Jackson Avenue at around 5 a.m. on Monday said they found a Jeep parked in the driveway and a book bag outside the side door, which was closed, according to a criminal complaint.

The officer called for backup after finding the rear door open and damaged. He heared someone moving around inside, police said.

A 911 dispatcher who was on the phone with the woman in the attic confirmed that the woman lived alone and did not to have guests staying over, the complaint said.

When police went inside, they saw a man they later identified as Younkins walking from a hallway into the kitchen, according to the complaint.

They ordered him at gunpoint to show his hands and get on the ground, the complaint said.

Police said Younkins got on his hands and knees but refused orders to lay on the ground. When he finally did, he refused to roll over onto his stomach to be handcuffed and had to be forced over using wrist locks, the complaint said.

Younkins told police that he lives in the house but does not get mail delivered there and was inside to get some of his belongings, police said.

When police brought the woman down to the first floor, she identified Younkins as her ex-boyfriend, according to the complaint.

She told officers that he was not allowed to be in her house, police said.