LANCASTER, Pa. – A Lancaster man is charged in a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries earlier this month.
Between 9:40 p.m. May 10 and 12:23 a.m. May 11, officers responded to several suspicious activity/burglary calls in the northwest area of the city. The first incident was in the 600 block of W. Orange Street, where officers responded to a report of a black male wearing a mask loitering around the church at Orange Street and Marietta Avenue. Responding officers were unable to locate the suspect. At 11:17 p.m. officers were dispatched to the 100 block of N. Pine Street for suspicious activity. The caller heard someone knocking on the glass of her front door. When she checked, she discovered the glass in the door had been broken. She did not see anyone.
At 11:27 p.m. police were dispatched to a residence in the 1st block of N. Pine Street for a possible attempted burglary. The victim stated he heard dogs barking outside and went to check. After turning on outside lights, he saw a black male wearing a white t-shirt, dark pants and carrying a dark jacket or shirt standing at his back window. The suspect saw him and fled on foot.
At 12:23 a.m. May 11, officers were dispatched to the 400 block of W. Orange Street for a burglary that had just occurred. The caller stated she was awakened when the lights turned on in her bedroom. She saw a Black male with no shirt on standing in her apartment. She screamed and the suspect fled, jumping out of the 1st floor living room window he had apparently entered from.
At 1:04 a.m., officers searching the area located and stopped an adult male in the 300 block of W. Grant Street who matched the general descriptions provided in the last two incidents.
Police verified the man’s identity as Jonathan Julio Toro, 23, and released him with no charges.
Detectives contacted one of the witnesses/ victim from the May 6th Nevin Street burglary attempt and showed him a photographic array which included a photo of Toro. The witness viewed the array and positively identified Toro as the male he saw in his back yard attempting to break into his house.
As a result of that positive identification, an arrest warrant was obtained charging Toro with Criminal Attempt to Commit Burglary and Criminal Mischief for the Nevin Street incident, and Criminal Attempt to Commit Burglary for the Mulberry Street incident.
At 5:31 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11th, Lancaster City Police officers went to Toro’s apartment in the 1st block of S. Prince Street.
Officers attempted to make contact but Toro refused to open the door. He jumped out of a 2nd floor window and fled on foot. He was captured in the 100 block of E. Mifflin St. and taken into custody after a foot pursuit.
Investigators received information that Toro may have been attempting to sell items that may have been stolen. Anyone who may have recently purchased items from Toro is asked to please contact City Police, as these items are possibly stolen property.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Lancaster City Police at (717) 735-3300 or Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913. You can also click the Submit a Tip button on our the police website, www.lancasterpolice.com, or Text a Tip to Crime Stoppers by texting LANCS plus your message to 847411. Tipsters may remain anonymous and do not have to give their names.
