State police investigating an attempted burglary in Mt. Pleasant Township are trying to identify a woman and two men who tried to break into a home.
Investigators released a surveillance image Tuesday of a tan minivan in which the suspects fled. Trooper Steve Limani said the incident was concerning because a woman knocked on the front door while two men tried to break in the back door of a Cherry Blossom Drive home at 5:20 p.m. Thursday.
No one was home. The suspects damaged the back door.
“We don’t know if that house was specifically targeted,” Limani said.
He described the door knocking as a distraction technique to gain entry into a home.
“That has the makings … to have the potential, if the homeowner’s there, to be a robbery,” Limani said.
3 unk Actors attempted to enter 106 Cherry Blossom Drive in Mt Pl Twp, Westmoreland County. 1 female pounded on the front door, while 2 unidentified males attempted to forcefully gain entry through the back door. The Actors then fled S on SR981 in the pictured tan minivan. pic.twitter.com/nucTcxXNuA
— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) April 26, 2022
Troopers are asking residents in the area to look at their surveillance or doorbell cameras for suspicious activity. No one else in the neighborhood off Route 981 near its intersection with Route 819 reported similar damage. All police have to go on is from a neighbor’s doorbell camera — a faraway video of people leaving the house and getting into the minivan, Limani said.
The minivan fled south on Route 981. Police said the homeowner doesn’t know anyone who drives that type of vehicle.
“The concern is was this person being targeted?” Limani said. “Why were they going to this one house and this one house only and does anybody else have damage and didn’t report it?”
Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 724-832-3288.
