News

November 21, 2009

Cops: W-B Twp. man steals guns to buy heroin

Erbacher, woman allegedly break into same apartment twice. He faces 8 charges.

By Edward Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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BEAR CREEK TWP. – State police at Wyoming arrested a man on charges he burglarized the same apartment twice, stealing two handguns that he sold for heroin, according to charges filed.

Police allege Michael Erbacher, 23, of Francis Street, Wilkes-Barre Township, and a woman used a butter knife to twice unlock a door at an apartment on Bear Creek Boulevard in September.

A 45-caliber pistol was stolen in the first burglary, and a 38-caliber revolver was taken in the second burglary, police said.

Police said in the criminal complaint that the firearms were sold for heroin.

Erbacher was arraigned on Wednesday and charged with two counts each of burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.

Police filed the charges with District Judge Michael Dotzel in Wilkes-Barre Township on Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint:

David Caruso reported on Monday that his apartment had been burglarized and two firearms were missing from a gun case.

Caruso told police his landlord advised him to check his apartment to see if anything was missing because a neighbor, a woman, and her boyfriend, Erbacher, were heroin users.

When Caruso checked his apartment, he noticed the firearms missing.

Police on Monday interviewed Caruso’s neighbor, who allegedly admitted to burglarizing the apartment twice. She claimed she used a butter knife both times to unlock the door, and stole the firearms they found in a gun case hidden in a closet, the criminal complaint says.

The woman, who hasn’t been charged, told police that the firearms were sold for heroin. She claimed that she and Erbacher used heroin because it is cheaper than buying Oxycontin, a drug they used to take.

A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Dec. 2 before Dotzel.

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