Greensburg man accused of squatting in basement of Seton Hill building

A Greensburg man is being held in the county jail after police said he broke into an office building at Seton Hill University, ransacking it and using the basement as a hiding place.

Joseph Donald Lawrence, 27, is charged with burglary, theft and criminal trespass in the August incidents.

University police said in court papers that Lawrence claimed to be a student as he got on a shuttle bus Aug. 28 that dropped him off at the Greensburg college’s administration building.

Two students inside discovered a bag of food from Chick-fil-A was missing when they returned from a nearby restroom. The students reported the theft to campus police and a description of the suspect, but surveillance cameras weren’t functioning properly and investigators didn’t find anyone in the area.

Three days later, police were called to St. Mary’s Hall office building after employees found it ransacked. Police said items were either missing or moved to “very odd locations.” Air conditioning units were turned on the lowest setting and fans were left on, according to court papers.

In the basement, police said they found a clue — two Chick-fil-A chocolate cookie wrappers. There also were drink bottles, cigarettes, wet socks, candy boxes and a half-empty box of wine, among other items, according to court papers.

“… It became obvious that the individual spent a great deal of time there,” Patrolman James Simpson reported.

With surveillance cameras working again, police watched a man take the Chick-fil-A food bag from the administration building and carry it to St. Mary’s Hall and break in. Investigators identified Lawrence as the man in the video.

During an interview last month, police say he admitted to the incidents and said he took numerous items from the office building, including bags, bottles of lotion, electronics and other things, according to court papers.

Some of the items that were taken were recovered. Lawrence has no affiliation with the university, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Reeger.

“Seton Hill holds paramoutn the health and safety of the entire campus community,” she said in a statement. “The university is grateful for the efforts of its campus police deparmtnet and the City of Greensburg police in quickly identifying the alleged perpetrator.”

Lawrence is in the Westmoreland County Jail on $50,000 bond. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 22.

Lawrence was sentenced in June to 37 days to a year in jail and one year of probation in connection with charges of loitering and prowling at night, public drunkenness and drug offenses stemming from a February incident in Greensburg, according to online court records. A motion to revoke his parole was filed Sept. 29.