Reading man jailed after burglary at apartment house

READING, PA – City police arrested a man after he broke into an apartment house in the same south Reading neighborhood where he lives, investigators said Monday.Terence R. Barber, 29, of the 400 block of South Fifth Street was taken into custody shortly before noon Saturday.

Police said that Barber was arrested after one of the residents of the building he had entered about an hour earlier called to report that he had confronted the suspect.

Barber was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail after arraignment before District Judge Victor M. Frederick IV in Reading Central Court.

He is charged with burglary, trespassing and receiving stolen property.
According to police:

A tenant in the building, also in the 400 block of South Fifth, called 9-1-1 after hearing a window breaking on the floor above.

Police arrived and spoke to another resident of the building, who led officers to the kitchen, where there was a broken window and glass on the floor.

The man said that he was asleep but awoke when the door to his room opened. A man later identified as Barber started to enter the room. When he saw the room was occupied, he said, “Someone let me in.” He then closed the door and fled.

The victim got out of bed and went down the stairs to the kitchen. He saw the intruder leaving through the window, going down the fire escape and running north in an alley.

The victim said that he had seen the same man sitting on the steps of the building in the same block. About an hour later, he called police to report he “caught” the suspect.

The victim identified Barber as the person inside the building. A witness said that he found a necklace belonging to the victim with Barber while speaking to him in Barber’s home.

Source: READING EAGLE Tuesday November 28, 2017 12:01 AM