Kenneth Michael Oschea, 41, was arraigned Tuesday night before Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio on more than a dozen charges, including felony counts of conspiracy burglary, receiving stolen property, criminal trespass, theft and criminal use of a communication facility, along with misdemeanor charges of possession of an instrument of crime, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal mischief.
Unable to post $20,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 28 before DeAntonio.
According to court documents, Altoona police responded Tuesday morning to the substation at 901 S. 15th St. after a Penelec employee spotted two men loitering near the property.
The employee followed the men — one on a scooter and one on foot — onto the 1500 block of Valley View Boulevard. The employee met with police and pointed out the scooter used by one of the men was parked in a driveway on the 1400 block of Jackson Avenue.
Fresh footprints in the snow led police to a shed, and officers could hear movements inside the building.
Oschea and another man were detained when they exited the shed, the report states. During a safety sweep of the shed, police observed a circuit breaker on the floor, a workbench, cellphone, three empty heroin wax packets and a syringe, along with multiple lengths of wire bundled together.
Three prior burglaries from the substation were reported in the last week, the Penelec employee told police. On Feb. 13, between $5,000 and $10,000 worth of copper wire was taken after the chain link fence was cut and entry was made into the area. A secured door was forced open to gain entry to where the wire was stored.
The second burglary was reported on Feb. 15, where entry was again made through the chain link fence, despite the fence being repaired. Bushing terminals and DMC connectors, valued at $290, were taken after a padlock on the door was broken to gain entry, the report states.
The employee found that on Feb. 16, the stolen items were taken to a scrap yard and sold.
The third burglary was reported on Monday, when the fence was again cut and the lock on the door was broken. Two rolls of copper, with a value of $1,000, were taken at that time.
With Oschea and the other man in custody, police spoke with the employee again, who showed officers a photo of the two on a separate date selling some of the stolen items.
In talking with police, the other man said he helped Oschea sell the items, but denied stealing anything and said he didn’t know the items were stolen.
During an interview with police, Oschea denied taking anything from the Penelec property, despite being shown photographs of him inside the building, police stated.
A search warrant for the shed in which Oschea and the other man were found turned up Oschea’s cellphone and a bag containing bolt cutters, the report states.
Source: https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2024/02/city-man-charged-in-theft/
