Mount Pleasant man arraigned after stolen vehicle crashed in Bullskin Twp., police continue search
Beers
Rebecca Devereaux|蘑菇视频
Jenny Johnson recalls when the stolen vehicle crashed into her front porch and caught fire on Pleasant Valley Road in Bullskin Township.
Rebecca Devereaux|蘑菇视频
Jenny Johnson, who lives in the house with her husband and two children says the vehicle on fire that crashed into her porch Tuesday was close to her gasline. 鈥淚 was afraid of losing everything in the house鈥� if the fire got too close to the gasline, says Johnson, .
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频 Heavily armed state police gather outside a Bullskin Township house and search for possible suspects after reports of shots fire in the area. The incident is alleged to be related to an earlier incident where a stolen vehicle crashed into a neighboring house.
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频
State police appear to take a suspect in custody (at front of police car) at the Sheetz store in Bullskin Township after a series of incidents Tuesday involving stolen vehicles, a crash into a house and a possible shooting.
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频 The occupants of this vehicle allegedly fled scene Tuesday after crashing into this Bullskin Township home on Route 982. The pick-up was reportedly stolen earlier in the day. The trucked bought fire after the crash causing some fire damage to the house. Bullskin Township firefighters assisted at he scene and state police are investigating the crash.
John F. Brothers | 蘑菇视频
The occupants of this vehicle allegedly fled the scene Tuesday after crashing into this Bullskin Township home on Route 982. The pickup was reportedly stolen earlier in the day. The truck caught fire after the crash causing some fire damage to the house. Bullskin Township firefighters assisted at he scene and state police are investigating the crash.
A Mount Pleasant man who was arrested after ordering cheesesticks at a Bullskin Township Sheetz yards from a fiery crash in a stolen vehicle was arraigned Wednesday morning.
Matthew Glenn Beers, 22, is facing nine felony charges for an alleged vehicle theft spree Tuesday that included two vehicle crashes 鈥� one into a house 鈥� and shots fired in a third attempted theft.
State police are continuing the search for a second person they believe was with Beers in the initial crash, but may not have participated in the incidents that followed.
The series of events began when Connellsville police received a call for a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado stolen from 112 Snyder St. at 3:27 p.m., according to Connellsville police Chief William Hammerle. Police were taking statements when the crash was reported less than 10 minutes later at 231 Pleasant Valley Road.
Resident Jenny Johnson was on the side porch when the stolen truck came 鈥渇lipping through the field,鈥� hitting a fence and telephone pole and launching a beam at her husband, Kyle Johnson. She said he was loading their 3-year-old son and infant daughter in a vehicle and ducked to dodge the beam.
鈥淚f my husband hadn鈥檛 ducked, he would have been impaled,鈥� she said.
The vehicle slammed into the corner of their house, splitting the foundation and causing cinder blocks to crumble onto the truck. She said she saw feet coming through the windshield of the truck, and a small fire ignited.
鈥淚t started very small. You could have blown on it and got it out,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ithin 15 minutes it was higher than my house.鈥�
Her husband ran for a hose, and she ran for a fire extinguisher. Johnson said she was unable to pull the pin on the extinguisher and handed it to a man, who was later identified as Beers. She said he threw the extinguisher, and the two fled into the woods. Johnson said both men appeared to be injured, and the second man had cuts in his face.
State police canvassed the woods but were unable to locate the suspects.
About five hours after the first crash, Beers allegedly broke into a garage at 375 Pleasant Valley Road and stole a 2006 Toyota 4Runner. He allegedly drove the vehicle through the garage doors and over a steep hillside along the driveway. Police said Beers stole cash and gift cards from the garage. The items were located in the vehicle, which was disabled from the crash, according to court documents.
While state police Trooper Trey Parsley was investigating the theft and crash, he was informed of a third attempted vehicle theft along the road.
Police said Beers entered a Lincoln MKX at 241 Pleasant Valley Road, but was spotted by the homeowner. Dispatchers said shots were fired. Beers again fled into a field, according to police.
About 30 minutes later, Beers was spotted at Sheetz at the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and U.S. 119, where he drew attention from an employee. Manager Joe Lane said the suspect蘑菇视频 hands were bloodied, and he tried to pay for three orders of mozzarella cheesesticks with wet cash.
He was arrested outside the Sheetz and found with stamp bags, a syringe, a stolen checkbook and a stolen 9-mm handgun with one round in the chamber, according to court documents.
State police continued searching for the second person Tuesday afternoon and looking for additional witnesses on Pleasant Valley Road.
Bullskin Township Elementary, which is located between the scene of the initial crash and the Sheetz where Beers was arrested, remained open Wednesday. Connellsville Area School District Superintendent Philip Martell said he was in communication with state police, who he said 鈥渁ssured district officials that there was not a credible threat鈥� to the safety of students or staff. Martell sent a letter home with students to parents elaborating on the reasons for keeping the school open and emphasizing the desire to protect the children.
Johnson said she is grateful her children were safe after the stolen truck sped only a few feet from her family. She said her children did not see the fire from their seats in the vehicle. When her toddler asked why reporters were in the house to talk, she told him it was 鈥渏ust about the mean man who wrecked his car.鈥� She said he only knew there was a crash and that the house was 鈥渂roken.鈥�
鈥淭he emotional damage is bad enough. Being barricaded in your house, not knowing what蘑菇视频 going on,鈥� she said.
Dozens of heavily armed troopers surrounded the house late into the night searching for the suspects. She said her husband stood by a door with a gun for hours.
鈥淢y head is in a million places right now,鈥� she said.
Beers was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft, criminal mischief, flight to avoid apprehension, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft from a motor vehicle, three counts each of receiving stolen property and accidents involving damage to attended property and several traffic violations.
He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr. and lodged in Fayette County Prison in lieu of a $75,000 bond.