BRADY TWP., Pa. (EYT) – An area man is facing charges for allegedly breaking into several camps and stealing a gun, an ATV, and other items.
Court documents indicate on April 9, the DuBois-based State Police filed criminal charges against 34-year-old Wade Eugene Petrillo, of Houtzdale.
According to a criminal complaint, around 7:10 p.m. on January 30, a known victim reported his handgun was stolen from his vehicle.
According to the complaint, the victim reported he was leaving for work and noticed his dome light was on, and his passenger door was not latched. He then looked in his center console and realized his Kimber .380 semi-automatic handgun was missing.
The victim told police he saw a set of footprints in the snow leading to the passenger side of the vehicle and showed the officers the footprints, which appeared to be from a type of sneaker with “very distinct prints,” according to the complaint. The prints came from the area of Beers Road and led into the woods, then circled back to the roadway.
Officers then searched the area and located the same prints around camps in the area. Along with the sneaker prints, officers also located a set of boot prints and found that a total of eight camps in the area had been tampered with. There were pry marks on some of the entrances to the camps, but in most cases, access was never gained, the complaint indicates.
According to the complaint, officers then observed fresh ATV tracks in the driveway of a location on Beers Road. Then, they found a camp that was ransacked inside, with every room left in disarray, and cabinets and drawers dumped onto the floor.
The officers followed the ATV tire tracks and located more in the area of the Bundy Cemetery on Sierra Heights Road. Officers began looking around the cemetery and along the tree line and located a pile of items, not covered in snow, that included two pairs of gloves, two trail cameras with the SD cards removed, two flashlights, and a pair of black men’s size 9.5 Wonderlite shoes that matched the distinct shoe prints, as well as miscellaneous papers with the victim’s name on them.
A short time later, officers were dispatched to another location on Beers Road for a report of a camp that had been entered, and an ATV was missing. Officers then met with a known man who stated the camp belonged to a friend, and he looked after it.
The known man reported he had seen police in the area and checked his friend’s camp and found it had been entered. Officers observed the rear door of the camp had been accessed, and the door jam had been damaged. Inside, officers observe drawers had been searched, and later found one of the drawers had contained the key to an ATV that was discovered to be missing from a locked shed. The ATV was described as a black Honda ATV, according to the complaint.
Officers then spoke with the owner of the camp, who stated he would go to see what was missing. The owner later provided the VIN for the ATV and stated there was also a 32-inch TV and an old single-shot .22 caliber gun missing from the camp.
A few days after the initial incident, DuBois-based State Police received an NCIC hit conforming for the stolen handgun from the Brookville Borough Police, who had recovered the gun from Tyler Wise. Wise was arrested due to having a warrant from Clearfield County and was housed in the Clearfield County Jail, where he was then interviewed.
According to the complaint, Wise explained he received the gun from Wade Petrillo.
The complaint notes Petrillo was being supervised under state parole, who then went to his residence to question him.
A search by state parole then located two .22 caliber long rifles at the residence, one matching the description of the gun stolen from the Beers Road camp. They also located a black Honda ATV, matching the description of the stolen ATV in the back yard of Petrillo’s residence, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, during a later interview, Petrillo stated he was given the ATV by his cousin to work on the brakes. He reportedly refused to admit any involvement in the thefts.
A warrant was then granted for the residence, and the ATV in the back yard was found to have the VIN number of the stolen ATV. Police also located a pair of boots that other occupants of the home stated belonged to Petrillo that matched the boot print found at the scene. One of the residents told police that when Petrillo came home with the ATV, he was riding with a known juvenile male, the complaint indicates.
Police then interviewed the known juvenile male.
The juvenile reported that he was with Petrillo and witnessed him entering the truck and removing the Kimber handgun. The juvenile also stated he did not know the area they were in but said it was a wooded area. He also told police he saw the .22 rifle and the other items reported stolen.
The following charges against Petrillo were filed through Magisterial District Judge Patrick N. Ford’s office on Thursday, April 9:
– Burglary – Overnight Accommodation, No Person Present, Felony 1 (two counts)
– Receiving Stolen Property, Felony 2 (three counts)
– Theft By Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 2 (three counts)
– Criminal Trespass-Enter Structure, Felony 3 (three counts)
– Criminal Mischief – Damage Property, Misdemeanor 3
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on May 8, with Judge Ford presiding.
Court documents indicate one second-degree felony count of possession of a prohibited firearm was also filed against Petrillo on April 9, related to the firearms found in his possession.
A preliminary hearing on the second case is also scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on May 8, with Judge Ford presiding.
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