Police Chase After Gun Incident
Leads To Burglary Arrests
By James JonesSolomon's words
A BOLO, after a report of shots fired at Country Fair, from the Olean Police Department to all area police agencies last Saturday night and a resulting police pursuit through Portville to the Pennsylvania state line, resulted in the arrest of a Coudersport man for a burglary spree in Port Allegany and Coudersport.
Port Allegany Officer Adam Dickerson spotted the vehicle matching the Olean PD's description in Port Allegany and followed it eastward on Route 6, calling ahead to Potter County law enforcement. That resulted in a 19 year old Coudersport resident and a 16 year old unnamed juvenile who accompanied him, surrendering to police at the Coudersport Borough Police Department.
Aaron David Trowbridge, 19, of Coudersport, PA, was arraigned before District Judge Richard Engman in McKean County where he was charged with three burglaries in Port Allegany. He remains jailed in lieu of $25,000.00 bail at the McKean County Jail, facing charges for the burglaries at Abbott's Barber Shop, Port Allegany Moose Lodge, and Johnston's Tools that occurred on March 29th in the area of 2:00 AM. Cash and two handguns were stolen at those locations.
Trowbridge has also been charged in District Court in Potter County with three burglaries in Coudersport at Seal's Pro Home Center, Buchsen's Car Wash, and the Coudersport Public Library, where in addition to burglary, a motor vehicle was stolen and driven onto the flood control dike where it got stuck.
Olean Police who received a 911 report of a man pointing a gun at another person, attempted to stop the blue pickup truck that Trowbridge was driving, but Trowbridge sped away on Route 417 through Portville and down Route 305 past the state line. Olean Police abandoned the pursuit at the state line and issued a BOLO for Pennsylvania police agencies with a description of the truck and it's license number..
Trowbridge is facing charges in NY to include Reckless Driving and 6 other traffic violations according to a report published on WESB's website today.
Officer Dickerson of the Port Allegany Police Department spotted the vehicle described in the BOLO driving through Port Allegany and followed it toward Coudersport, calling ahead to get backup before attempting to stop the vehicle. Dickerson was near the county line when he was advised to follow the vehicle non-emergency.
Sergeant Jim Collins, of the Coudersport Police Department, had made contact with Trowbridge by cell phone and arrangements had been made for Trowbridge and the unnamed 16 year old juvenile who accompanied him, to turn themselves in at the Coudersport Boro Police Station where Coudersport and Sweden Valley officers were waiting. Sweden Valley Police also assisted Coudersport Police on Tuesday with a search warrant of an apartment in connection with the burglaries.
The PCO at the Coudersport State Police barracks did not know if State Police were involved in the arrest.
In the Port Allegany burglaries, Officer Dickerson wrote in his Affidavitt of Probable Cause, filed in District Judge William Todd's court, that in the area of 2:00 am on March 29, 2012, the named defendant, Aaron Trowbridge, 19, of Coudersport, along with a 16 year old unnamed male juvenile male, also from Coudersport, went on a crime spree, burglarizing three separate businesses in the Port Allegany Borough in McKean County.
The first business was Abbott's Barber Shop, located on North Main Street. The actors broke out a side window at the business in which the two entered. Money in paper and change was taken. Approximately $25.00 and an undetermined amount of antique change currency were removed.
After leaving the Barber Shop, the two proceeded in a southerly direction to the Moose Lodge on Pearl Street where they broke a front window and entered the Lodge, where they destroyed a video camera surveillance system and took several Slim Jim meat sticks.
They then walked to Johnston's Hardware on South Main Street where they broke a window at the rear of the business and entered the building.
Once inside, they removed without permission, two coin sacks containing roughly $120.00 worth of quarters and roughly $1,000.00 in paper currency.
Also taken at Johnston's was a 40 caliber high point handgun and a 9mm handgun.
An alarm sounded and the pair left out the back door and proceeded to their truck which was parked on Arnold Avenue.
Trowbridge is facing the charges below in District Court 48-3-02 for the Port Allegany incidents:
In an affidavit filed Monday, along with charges in District Judge Annette Easton's courtroom, Coudersport Officer Curt McClain described the events that took place in the Coudersport burglaries.
On March 29th, 2012 at approximately 8:00 am, Coudersport Boro Police were notified that three burglaries had taken place within the boro sometime between midnight and 5:00 am. Aaron Trowbridge, along with a known male juvenile, had committed all three burglaries.
Seal's Pro Home Center, at 262 Route 6 West, was entered first by the actors smashing a window in a rear door with a hammer that they left at the scene.
Once inside, the put on gloves from a display inside the store, then breaking open several desk drawers in the office, removing $75.00 in one dollar bills and $25.00 in rolled coins.
Also taken from the store, to be used at other locations, were a Roto-Zip Multi Tool with storage bag, a Stanley Fat Max utility bar, 2 Stanley pry bars, a Vaughn masonry hammer, a set of 3 Stanley wood chisels, a Fuller 24 inch bolt cutter, a True Temper splitting maul, 4 pairs of gloves, 2 pair of DeWalt safety glasses, a Mini Mag flashlight, a Sheffield utility knife, and several sets of keys.
The actors then drove to Buchsen's Car Wash located at 91 Route 6 West where they smashed open the back door to the car wash and attempted to break open the coin changer. They did not get any money, but did destroy the coin changer and cause other damage including a security camera.
They then drove to the Potter-Tioga Library located at 502 Park Avenue where they broke a window to gain entry to the building. Once inside, they removed approximately $40.00 in cash , a Canon Digital Camera, a metal cash box, a Chase Mastercard and several sets of keys, including a key to the Library's Jeep Liberty. They then entered the Jeep and drove it into Mitchell Park and onto the flood control dike where it became stuck.
Officer McClain continued, On March 30, 2012, most of the tools taken from Seal's were recovered by the Pennsylvania State Police along a secluded road in the area of Roulette, PA.
Also found at the scene were 4 Money Vault scratch off lottery tickets. The tickets were numbered 029, 030, 032, and 033. The Sheetz store in Coudersport was contacted to see if these tickets were sold there. Employees at the store confirmed that they were bought at the store at 2:10 am on March 29, 2012. Video footage was viewed and it showed that the tickets were bought by Aaron Trowbridge.
On March 31st, 2012 or early April 1st, 2012, Aaron Trowbridge and the known male juvenile were in high speed chase with Olean, NY, Police Department from Olean to the New York/Pennsylvania state line. Contact was made via cell phone with Trowbridge by Sgt. Jim Collins of the Coudersport Police Department and the actors agreed to turn themselves in to the Coudersport Police Department.
Written statements were given to this police department on April 1, 2012 describing and admitting to all incidents.
The following charges have been filed in Potter County District Court 55-3-01. Trowbridge has not yet been arraigned on these charges from the Coudersport incidents.
