The police posted his photo online saying he was suspected of a crime. The man claims he was falsely accused.
ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — A man claims he was falsely accused of burglary and trespassing by the Elizabeth Township Police Department.
His picture was posted on the department's Facebook page with the caption that police wanted to question him about trespassing and burglary. Jarrett Gunter, however, said he was doing his job as a home inspector. The department also emailed residents saying they were looking for him.
Gunter said he was the man in the photo, but he wasn't burglarizing or trespassing. He said he was doing his job as a property inspector with the company A and S Booker. Gunter entered the house with the code on the lockbox.
"It hurts," he said. "It has hurt my family, it has hurt my jobs, it hurt everything about what I do because I'm a general contractor. I'm also an ordained minister. And even with this job that I'm doing now, it has me worried about being able to complete it correctly without having the cops called on me or looking like a criminal."
Elizabeth Township Police told KDKA-TV on Thursday that this is an ongoing investigation and they cannot comment. The department also said the investigation is now only a trespassing investigation.
Police went on to say that the property owner said it is an abandoned rental property. The owner told police that they knew nothing about an inspection, bank activity or any reason for anyone to be there, which is why the property owner sent the video to police.
Police deleted the original social media post, but Gunter said all that doesn't matter as too much damage has been done.