Burglary Alleged in Collegeville, Trappe Incidents
NORRISTOWN PA – A suspect has been arrested by federal marshals in Harrisburg PA for alleged overnight residential burglaries or attempted burglaries that occurred in Collegeville, Trappe, East and West Norriton, and Lower Providence over a two-month period during late summer 2020, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced Thursday (May 20, 2021).
The incidents took place as occupants generally slept in what they considered their otherwise safe homes, Steele indicated.
Junine Garnett (at top), 21, of Norristown, is charged with multiple felony counts of burglary of an occupied
structure, attempted burglary of an occupied structure, criminal trespass by breaking into a structure; and misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. He was jailed at the county facility in Eagleville PA after he was unable to post a $500,000 cash bail.
Garrett is scheduled for a June 1 (2021; Tuesday) preliminary hearing on the charges before Magisterial District Justice Cathleen Kelly Rebar. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tanner Beck.
Steele claimed investigators determined Garnett gained entry to homes through unlocked windows and doors. Once inside, “he ransacked various rooms in the homes and stole easily transported items, primarily cash, jewelry, valuable documents and purses,” the district attorney said in a media release.
During an 8th Avenue, Collegeville, burglary that allegedly occurred Sept. 24 (2020), a burglar was confronted by the home’s owner. The intruder immediately fled the property, “leaving behind a black Mercury Milan parked across the street,” according to Steele. Police later learned the vehicle was registered to Garnett’s mother.
The same vehicle appeared in surveillance video of areas where other burglaries or attempted burglaries had occurred, he said.
Alleged attempted burglaries occurred in the same areas as other homes burglarized on the same night, Steele charged. In those incidents, he said, “police found homeowner video surveillance that showed the defendant trying to find unsecured doors or windows to gain entry to the home. When the defendant found none, he moved on to a neighboring home.”
Credited by Steele for their work in the multi-jurisdictional investigation, led by Lower Providence police, were police departments from Collegeville, East Norriton, Norristown, and West Norriton, as well as the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and Pennsylvania State Police.
“These burglaries were opportunistic,” he added. “The defendant searched for unlocked doors and windows through which to gain entry to homes; he did not break any windows or pry open doors. I cannot stress enough that even though you think you live in a ‘safe neighborhood,’ please lock your doors and windows at night. It’s an easy precaution to take.”
Photo supplied by the district attorney’s office
