Mt. Lebanon Police Investigating String Of Home Burglaries

MOUNT LEBANON (KDKA) -- Police in Mount Lebanon are asking residents to be on alert after a string of burglaries over the last few weeks.

Investigators are looking into three separate incidents at unoccupied homes. They're trying to determine if the incidents are related.

Police are also looking into another incident from Wednesday. They say a man rang the doorbell of a residence and a woman opened the door. The man claimed his wife's cell phone was stolen and he had tracked it to that home. When the woman's adult sons joined her at the door, police say the man quickly left the area.

The description of the man in that incident matches the description of a person of interest in the three burglaries under investigation.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, with sandy brown hair, a brown beard, wearing a baseball hat, shorts, and a T-shirt.

"I'm kinda surprised. We moved to back this area because it's known to be a safer community, very family friendly and very surprised," Sarah Libert said.

"It typically is a safe place. Out of all the places I've lived in Pittsburgh, the little neighborhoods, I feel like this is definitely the safest," Crystal Kreamer said.

Police say they are also trying to determine if there are any similarities to recent burglaries in Upper St. Clair and North Strabane Township.

"I feel like in Mount Lebanon they're usually what they call crimes of opportunity, people leaving their car doors unlocked, garage doors opened, which I think we're all sort of guilty of doing," Rebecca McDonald said.

Investigators are encouraging residents to call 911 immediately if they see anything suspicious in their neighborhood. Anyone going out of town should make their home "as unattractive as possible to criminals." Police say, "Communicate with a neighbor to keep an eye on your house, stop your mail and newspaper delivery, ensure packages are picked up or delivered elsewhere, install motion detection lights..."

You can call the Mount Lebanon Crime Prevention Unit at (412)-343-4068 for additional recommendations.

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