PORTAGE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man is accused of breaking into a couple’s apartment, sleeping in their bed and stealing their two cats, authorities said.
Austin Shaffer, 21, is charged with two felony counts of burglary and criminal trespassing, along with multiple theft misdemeanors, WTAJ reported.
According to the Portage Borough Police Department, the couple called authorities after they returned from vacation on May 26 and discovered that someone had broken into their apartment, WJAC reported.
Shaffer told police that he is homeless and was seeking shelter from the bad weather.https://t.co/hXEwrnMJi4
— WTAJ News (@WTAJnews) June 9, 2021
The couple’s front door was tampered with, bedroom blankets were on the floor and their two cats were missing, according to a criminal complaint.
The couple also told police that someone had used toothpaste to write an obscenity on a mirror, WJAC reported.
Multiple witnesses told police that they heard and saw Shaffer broke into the apartment, the television station reported.
When questioned by police, Shaffer told investigators he entered the apartment to avoid inclement weather because he was homeless, WTAJ reported. According to the complaint, Shaffer told police he believed the cats had been abandoned and said he was doing a good deed by taking them.
Other witnesses told police that Shaffer had bragged about breaking into the apartment and trashed it as revenge, according to the criminal complaint.
Shaffer is being held in the Cambria County Prison, WTAJ reported. He has not posted bail.
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