Police Take 2 Home Invasion Suspects Into Custody, Say They Were Going Door-To-Door To Escape Cold
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ROBINSON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Police in Robinson, Stowe and Kennedy Townships have two suspects in custody and are still looking for a third following a home invasion involving the suspects jumping from a moving car while fleeing from police.
According to police, multiple emergency calls came in from residents who were saying the suspects were going around, knocking on doors, trying to convince someone to let them in and out of the cold.
"I could hear him saying something about this car broke down and he was freezing and needed help," said one neighbor who did not want to be identified.
She said she did not answer the door, but called 911 instead.
"I thought if it's an innocent situation, and if the person really was having a problem with his car, they'd figure it out, but also if it was the bad guy, then police would come," she said.
Initially, Robinson Township Police said all three suspects were in custody. However, that turns out not to be the case. Two have been arrested and one is still at large, investigators are now saying.
The two suspects in custody were identified as 21-year-old Justin Desean Bryant and 20-year-old Deandre Williams. A 9mm handgun and an AK-47 rifle were also confiscated.
Two people were in the residence at the time of the robbery, and one was physically assaulted. Shots were fired from the rifle, according to police. Neither victim was struck by gunfire.
Allegheny County Police took over the investigation.
"We reached out to Allegheny County General Investigations to give us a hand with this because it started out as a home invasion at 3 this morning, and kind of swelled into involving three other municipalities," said Stowe Township's Police Chief Matt Preininger.
Three young male suspects left the home and hopped into a black Nissan sedan. Chief Preininger said that the suspects got away with more than $7,000 in cash from the home.
"They might have known that they had something in there, that's what we're going to dig into and figure out, get to the bottom of it, and figure out why this house is the target house," he said.
Police say a Kennedy Township officer spotted the car leaving the area of the crime and started trailing it toward Ewings Mill Road.
Investigators say one suspect jumped out of the car near the bridge to I-79. A second suspect jumped out a little later down the road. The third suspect jumped out of the car near the Forest Grove Gun Club. The car crashed and then flipped down the hillside.
"There's a really sharp curve down near the Forest Grove Gun Club. The vehicle did not negotiate that turn and ended up hitting a tree stump and flipping over," said Sgt. Noel Pilewski, of Robinson Twp Police Department.
Bryant was found injured near the crash scene. He was the first person arrested.
Williams ended up in the creek and nearly froze after being out in the cold for several hours, police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital to be checked out.
He was then taken to the Robinson Township Police Department and transported to the Stowe Twp Police Department.
#UPDATE: Police say this is the suspect who fell in the creek and nearly froze. He just put on a change of clothes at the Robinson Twp PD. He's off to Stowe Twp PD before jail. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/bLcmWZSIJm
— MEGHAN SCHILLER (@MeghanKDKA) January 30, 2019
During the same time frame, a gold in color Chevrolet Venture minivan bearing PA registration KND2422 was stolen from a driveway in the immediate area. It is believed that this theft may be tied to the third, as of yet, unidentified suspect in this case. Anyone seeing this vehicle should immediately call 911. The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.
Bryant and Williams were charged with aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, theft, discharging a firearm in an occupied structure, flight to avoid prosecution, criminal trespass, recklessly endangering another person, impersonating a public servant, and criminal mischief.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.
