A 32-year-old man who previously served time for a burglary conviction was back in the Westmoreland County Prison Thursday, accused of breaking into a Ligonier Township home.
Joshua J. Miller, of the village of Waterford, was arraigned before District Judge Denise Thiel on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, receiving stolen property and theft filed by Ligonier Police. Thiel ordered Miller held in the prison after he failed to post $50,000 bail.
Officer James Friscarella said he was called to a burglary about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Pole Bridge Lane, where he was provided a surveillance video of the suspect. Friscarella said he recognized Miller.
“The video clearly shows a male walking around, with gloves and a large coat rummaging through the residence. I immediately recognized the male in the video as Joshua Miller … this officer has spoken with him on several occasions,” Friscarella said in court documents.
When Friscarella questioned Miller, police said he claimed to have taken only a box of cold medicine and a bracelet from the home.
In November 2017, Miller pleaded guilty before Judge Christopher Feliciani to a 2016 burglary and was sentenced to serve up to two years in county prison and two years parole afterward unless he completed an in-patient drug and alcohol treatment program. Online court records indicate Miller was paroled into an area drug and alcohol center in 2018.
Miller’s preliminary hearing on the new complaints is scheduled April 3.
