Man With Extensive Record Charged With Burglarizing Homes

A Susquehanna County man with an extensive record was arrested Friday and charged with burglarizing multiple homes in the Lakeside section of Tullytown.

On Friday, October 24 at approximately 2:13 p.m. police responded to a call of a suspicious person on Lakeside Drive.

The caller noted to police they had seen the man who was wearing a dark colored sweatshirt with “Truman” written on the back, blue jeans and a backpack underneath of the sweatshirt walking between homes on Lakeside Drive, according to court documents.

The man was walking on Lakeside Drive towards Laurel Lane when police responded and spoke with a homeowner. The homeowner advised police that his back door was open when he came home and that his wife’s dresser had been gone through and some loose change was taken from a plastic jar in his living room, according to police.

Officers conducted a pedestrian stop of a man walking along Lilac Lane who fit the caller’s description. The man was identified as 22-year-old Edward Hartzell.

During a search by police, Hartzell was discovered to have a pair of black gloves in his sweatshirt and several pieces of jewelry in his jeans pocket. The backpack Hartzell was wearing contained loose change and cash, two Xbox 360 games, a pill bottle prescribed to a resident of Laurel Lane, headphones in a case, a blue thermos which contained two bags of green vegetable matter consistent with marijuana and a grinder which contained residue, court papers say.

According to police, officers were then notified of a possibly related burglary that was not in progress on Laurel Lane. The caller noted that her dog had also been taken from her residence, the dog was later located on Lilac Lane.

The objects found on Hartzell were also consistent with objects identified as missing by residents, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

After Hartzell was transported to police headquarters, he was asked by police how many homes he had burglarized that day, to which he responded “I’m not sure I think just one.” When Hartzell was informed that the items found were from two separate homes, he stated, “I did it man, like I said I was pretty f**ked up earlier, should have stayed in my house, f**k I’m going away for like three years.”

Hartzell was charged with two felony counts of burglary with overnight accommodations, two felony counts of criminal trespassing and six related misdemeanors. He was sent to Bucks County Prison on 10 percent of $50,000. His preliminary hearing will be continued with Judge Robert L. Wagner Jr. on December 2.

According to online court records, Hartzell has several other theft related incidences dating back to 2010.

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