1 arrested in robbery, 1 injured, at Derry Borough home

A Derry Borough man was hospitalized after police said he was hit in the head with a tire iron during a robbery at his home Friday.

The man told borough police that five people broke into his Hays Street home around 7 p.m. but the only one he could identify was Robert E. Coffren, 29, of Derry.

Coffren is charged with robbery, aggravated assault, theft, burglary, receiving stolen property and related offenses. He was jailed Saturday on $100,000 bail.

Police were notified of the robbery by Westmoreland 911 dispatchers after the injured man was taken to Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. Investigators met up with him at his home later that night and learned that he and his brother were both assaulted by one man during the robbery.

Another suspect pointed a gun at the brothers and demanded they open a safe, according to police.

The suspects took $2,100, a limited edition Pokemon card, two silver dollars, a wallet, several knives and a subwoofer, according to court papers. Coffren, who had been at the home in the past, was accompanied by two older men and two younger men, police said.

When investigators apprehended Coffren, they said he had six of the knives that had been reported stolen along with drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Coffren did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A Dec. 9 preliminary hearing is set. He is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison.

He is awaiting preliminary hearings in three other cases filed between September and November, according to online court records. He is accused of marijuana possession in August and November by Latrobe police and drug possession and driving on a suspended license in October by Greensburg police.