A Springdale woman’s former boyfriend is accused of breaking into her home while she was in Florida and stealing $1,000 in personal items and cash, according to authorities.
Coleman Walsh, 24, of Freeport Street in Etna, got caught after she saw him on a security camera inside the house, police said.
Walsh was charged by Springdale police with felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass along with counts of theft, criminal mischief and loitering.
Police wrote in a criminal complaint that officers responded to a burglary report in the 1000 block of Keene Street shortly before 3 a.m. April 26. They spoke to the owner in Florida through a Ring camera installed at her home.
She asked police to check her house because she got an alert from a Ring camera in the living room at 11:46 p.m. and saw a man rummaging through a clear plastic storage box, the complaint said.
Police found a back door with the window smashed out but nobody inside. They said it looked like somebody went through the dresser drawers and that money was found scattered in the room, according to the complaint.
The woman gave police a photo from the video of a man she said was Walsh and told them the box he was searching through held paperwork from his business.
She told them he hasn’t lived with her for several years.
She also identified Walsh in surveillance video police got from nearby cameras that show him carrying the plastic box as he leaves, the complaint said.
The woman said Walsh stole $190 and nearly $820 worth of shoes and other items.
Charges were filed after the woman gave police court documents showing that Walsh hasn’t lived in her home since February 2020. The case also was reviewed by an Allegheny County assistant district attorney, according to the complaint.
Walsh was arrested May 31 and released from the Allegheny County Jail after a Pittsburgh bail agency posted a $20,000 bond on his behalf. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26 before District Judge David Sosovicka.
Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tony by email at tlarussa@triblive.com or via Twitter .
