Maryland Man to Stand Trial for Conspiracy in Pine Township Burglary

A 26-year-old Maryland man will stand trial on a felony count of criminal conspiracy in a burglary at a home in Pine Township.

Nathan Charles Roupe of St. Michaels, MD, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge William K. Wagner.

He is charged with conspiring with Cranberry resident David Chisholm, according to the criminal complaint.

Charges against Chisholm, 26, were filed Wednesday in Wagner's court. Chisholm is charged with a felony count of burglary and misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking, court papers show.

Chisholm already is facing a long list of charges in Allegheny and Butler counties that include burglary and theft, according to court records.

police were called to a home in the 200 block of Warrendale Bakerstown Road on Sept. 3 when the residents returned from vacation and saw their home had been broken into, court documents state.

The homeowner showed police where someone had attempted to enter through a rear patio door and left a tire iron on the porch railing, the criminal complaint states.

The intruder entered the home through a basement window, police said. The residents said they left for vacation on Aug. 10, said police.

Northern Regional police were called to that neighborhood Aug. 14 when a resident in the 100 block, which is in Marshall township, came home to find his garage door closed, but unlocked, as well as interior doors open that should have been closed, court documents state. 

"(He) briefly entered the main living floor and found items out of place, indicating that someone was or had been in the house," court documents state.

Police checked the house, but did not find anyone inside, according to the criminal complaint. 

"Upon inspecting the garage door, it was found that when closed and locked, the door would become unlocked with a slight shake of the handle," court documents state. "It is believed that the actor(s) entered through the garage door, as no evidence of forced entry was found elsewhere."

The resident reported that he was missing a handgun, ammunition, $50 in change and prescription medicine, court documents show.

On the same day, a Northern Regional police officer was dispatched to the 300 block of Warrendale Bakerstown Road to check out a parked car with out-of-state tags, states the criminal complaint.

When the officer arrived, he spoke to Roupe, who owned the vehicle, court papers show.

"Roupe stated that he was homeless and was looking for a place to stay the night. He also indicated he was alone," the criminal complaint states.

Then the person who called in the parking complaint told the officer that he had seen two men get out of the truck; one walked into the woods, court papers said.

Roupe then told the officer he thought there were warrants out for the arrest of that man, whom he knew as "Remy," states the criminal complaint.

The officer patted down Roupe and found a piece of a tire iron in his pocket, which was later matched to the tire iron found at the burglarized home in the 200 block of Warrendale Bakerstown Road, according to court documents.

Roupe gave the officer permission to search his 1999 Ford Ranger pickup truck, the criminal complaint states.

"I found three hypodermic needles, an XBox gaming system and a Garmin GPS unit. Also in the vehicle were several bags of clothes and miscellaneous items. The XBox and GPSwere found to be without their serial numbers. Nathan indicated that the needles were his and used to inject heroin," the officer wrote in his report.

"Also found in the truck, on the passenger seat, was a brown leather wallet. The wallet contained a credit/debit card and a Beaver County gun permit, both with the name David A. Chisholm."

Additional officers looked for the other male, but could not find him, the report said. 

"Roupewas advised to stay off of private property and sent on his way," the officer said in the report.

The police officer contacted Roupe's attorney after finding that the tire iron piece found in Roupe's pocket matched the tire iron found at the burglary scene, court documents state.

When Roupe and his attorney met with the officer in October, Roupe told police he drove Chisholm to the Wexford area on Aug. 14, dropped him off behind a home on Warrendale Road and loaned Chisholm his tire iron, police said.

"Chisholm then told Roupe to drive down the road for about 10 minutes and then come back and pick him up," court papers state. After about 25 minutes, Roupe parked his vehicle and walked to the house where he saw Chisholm use the tire iron to break into the home through a window, according to court documents.

When Roupe walked back to his truck about 10 minutes later, he met the Northern Regional police officer who questioned him and searched his truck, the criminal complaint states.

Roupe told police in October that he left without Chisholm and drove to Washington County, according to court documents.

Chisholm called Roupe a few hours later and told him he had "hit" another house in the area and wanted Roupe to pick him up at the 7-Eleven on Route 19 and Warrendale Road and take him to a pawn shop, court documents state.

The second house "hit" was in the 100 block of Warrendale Road, the criminal complaint states.

Roupe said he did not go back to pick up Chisholm, according to court papers.