Man arraigned on more charges by state police
Shawn Ryan Harden walked into the office of District Judge Ethan Ward Thursday morning expecting to have a preliminary hearing on charges filed against him by state police stemming from a June 3 incident in West Finley Township.
The 34-year-old, who lists addresses in Wheeling, W.Va., and Youngstown, Ohio, walked out in handcuffs after being arrested and arraigned on charges of burglary, robbery, theft, simple assault and harassment in connection with an incident at a West Finley home that also happened June 3.
A man called state police that day and reported he caught a man stealing items from his parents’ home on Hamilton Road. The victim told police he was staying with his elderly parents, who needed help on the farm.
When the man returned to the house after cutting fields, he spotted a vehicle outside his parents’ home, along with a dog he did not recognize. When the son went inside the house, he said he found silver plates on the floor and cabinets open. He yelled, and a man later identified by police as Harden ran down the steps from the second floor. When the resident tried to stop the intruder from leaving, the two got into an altercation, with the intruder allegedly trying to get his dog to attack the victim.
The suspect fled. He was identified as the suspect in the burglary when he was taken into custody in connection with the other incident, for which he was charged with unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, harassment and reckless endangerment. Police said he assaulted a woman and two children while holding them against their will in a car on Old Brick Road.
Inside the car, police said they found pieces of jewelry, coins and a large wooded box containing silverware that had reportedly been stolen from the Hamilton Road home.
Harden, who had been free on $5,000 bond in the previous case, was placed in Washington County jail on $50,000 bond. He is scheduled for preliminary hearings on both cases before Ward July 18.