Man arrested for stealing gun
A South Strabane Township man was arrested Wednesday by township police after he allegedly went to a neighbor’s home to borrow a roll of toilet paper and ended up stealing a handgun.
Brandon Joseph Howard, 24, of 19 Strabane Drive, was arrested on charges of theft, receiving stolen property, firearm not to be carried without a license and a firearms violation.
Dan Vernon told police that Howard came to his home July 5 to get a roll of toilet paper. While Vernon was retrieving the roll, Howard allegedly spotted the handgun and stole it. Police said Howard later admitted to them that he stole the weapon and traded it for heroin. The handgun has not been recovered.
Howard already is awaiting trial on charges of theft and receiving stolen property for allegedly stealing items including a video game player from a Canton Township home in March. He also is awaiting trial on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property for allegedly stealing a chain saw from a Somerset Township home May 19. Police said he sold the stolen items at Washington area pawn shops.
Howard also was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in jail in November 2012 on charges of receiving stolen property, hindering apprehension and possession of a controlled substance after he was found by South Strabane police in a vehicle with items later learned to have been stolen from a murdered East Finley Township woman. Howard was in the vehicle with Frank Russel Jones, 25, of Claysville, who pleaded guilty to the January 2012 murder of 80-year-old Opal Bedillion. Among the items found in the car was a prescription bottle of hydrocone with Bedillion’s name on it.
Howard was arraigned before District Judge David Mark on the new charges and placed in Washington County jail on $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday before District Judge Jay Weller.