A Middlesex Township teen charged in a Richland Township home-invasion burglary was arraigned Tuesday morning and charged with two felonies.
Leo James Nealon, who turned 18 on Sept. 12, was charged with a felony count of burglary and a felony count of conspiracy—burglary, as well as a misdemeanor count of possessing instruments of crime—criminal instruments.
A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 26 before Magisterial District Judge Suzanne Blaschak.
Northern Regional Police arrested Nealon about 7:15 p.m. Monday at his Middlesex Township (Valencia) home, Chief T. Robert Amann said. Nealon turned himself in after police contacted and spoke with him by cell phone, Amann said.
Police arrested a 17-year-old earlier Monday afternoon at a home on Sandy Hill Road in northeastern Richland Township.
Northern Regional police were called to the home about 3:45 p.m. by a 17-year-old resident who was home alone when he heard someone trying to break into the home, Amann said.
The teen called police after he fled out the back door and into the woods, staying on the phone to keep police updated, the chief said.
When police arrived at the home at 3661 Sandy Hill Road, they captured one of the suspects coming out the back door, Amann said.
The other fled into the woods, setting off a search that included officers from Middlesex Township in Butler County, West Deer, Indiana Township, McCandless and Pennsylvania State Police.
Officers also brought in a canine unit to assist them in the rural wooded neighborhood that is close to the intersection of Middlesex Township in Butler County, West Deer and Richland townships.
Amann said the teen who lives in the house told police he was home alone after returning from school Monday afternoon. That teen, who has not been identified, told police he heard someone trying to break into his home, first through a side door and later by kicking or using a baseball bat to break through the front door, Amann said.
Have there been burglaries in your area recently? Tell us about it in the comments.
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