DERRY township, Pa. - Some homeowners are resting easier tonight, after police announced the arrest of several suspects involved in a burglary ring. They say five men broke into 31 homes across Dauphin and Cumberland counties.
It happened over January and February. The men allegedly stole cash, jewelry, electronics and guns from the homes.
"To have the burglaries occur within a short period of time, and go in rapid succession like they were, it's frustrating not only in our jurisdiction, but for everybody," says Chief Patrick O'Rourke, "So it feels good to be able to bring closure to the victims of these crimes."
Several homes in one Derry Township, Dauphin County neighborhood were targeted, including Steve Ballard's. His family was on vacation at the time. The suspects broke the window on a back door to get in, as they did in most of the cases.
Drawers were laid out on his bed when he returned home. The thieves took his 10-year-old TV, some electronics, and an AirSoft gun they may have mistaken for the real thing. Police say nine guns were stolen from the homes, and only one has been recovered, in the city of Harrisburg.
"But they kind of were tidy about it, they went through, and I have a whole wall full of magic tricks and they went through and they took the little boxes out," Ballard says. "And it's like alright, you got my two-headed coin, crazy stuff like that."
He's glad they missed some pieces, like a watch, that have more sentimental value. But the biggest thing they stole was a sense of safety.
"It just felt eerie or creepy or uncomfortable for quite a while," he says.
Police say Jerod McIntyre of Harrisburg was the ringleader of the group, who recruited the other men. He's facing charges of burglary, criminal conspiracy, and illegal possession of a firearm.