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Police Investigating Attempted Break-In At Latrobe Magistrate's Office

LATROBE (KDKA) – Police in Westmoreland County are looking for whoever broke into a magistrate's office by sneaking in through the back window sometime over the weekend.

District Judge Mark Bilik's office in Latrobe is the local seat of justice, but recently, it was also the scene of a crime. The window was the would-be burglar's avenue of attempted access.

"It wasn't ajar, you could see that it was bent out," Bilik said. "Whoa, there's something up with this. I could see where the screen had been cut."

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An avid outdoorsman, Judge Bilik's office is a trophy room for his hunting and fishing adventures throughout the years, but if the assailant were looking for money, these were the only bucks around.

"We don't keep any type of money here," Bilik said. "State law says we have to deposit it on a daily basis."

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There are a lot of expensive computers and volumes of files inside the building, but the judge isn't sure those items were, in fact, the draw.

"More than likely, whatever scenario took place in the office, they weren't happy with, and figured they'd come back and probably voice their displeasure in one way or another," Bilik said.

Interestingly enough, Judge Bilik says this isn't the first time someone has tried to damage his office.

"One winter, we had a gentleman shoot the building 16 times with a handgun," he said. "He's presently doing 23 years at the federal penitentiary over that."

State police are working on clues. The burglar never got into the building; they were too big to fit. If they're thinking about coming back for another try, Judge Bilik says there will be electric eyes watching.

"We're gonna have cameras all over the building by the end of the week," Bilik said. "So that will help us out a lot."

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