Mahanoy City Police made two more arrests in relation to burglaries that have been occurring in the borough.According to Chief Mark Wiekrykas, on Monday, officers following up on various leads in the ongoing burglary investigations searched a garage in the 1100 block of E Market St. with the permission of the property owner, and found George Hartranft, 46, no known address, asleep on the second floor of the property.
Hartranft was found to be in possession of identification cards belonging to two residents of a home in the same block that had been broken into in June of this year. Hartranft subsequently admitted to being inside that home.
Hartranft was charged with Burglary, Criminal Trespass, Receiving Stolen Property, and Identity Theft, arraigned by District Magisterial Judge Stephen Bayer, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $50,000 straight cash bail.
In a second arrest, around 2:40am, Tuesday, an officer patrolling in a non-police vehicle due to the recent increase in burglaries observed Jeremiah Spirko, 31, no known address, walking on West Center Street wearing a backpack and acting suspiciously.
When officers in marked patrol units approached Spirko, he
fled on foot with officers giving chase, and was ultimately detained on East Railroad Street. Spirko was found to be in possession of a variety of tools that could be commonly used by burglars.
Spirko was charged with Loitering and Prowling at Nighttime, Possession of Instruments of Crime, Resisting Arrest, and Obstructing the Administration of Law, arraigned by District Magisterial Judge Anthony Kilker, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.