WEST PITTSTON -- Police in Luzerne County said there may be a break in a rash of home burglaries that has left the West Pittston community on edge.
Police arrested a man they said had items from one of homes, and they are hoping this will bring them more leads.
Jorge Moreira of West Wyoming is charged with receiving stolen property and device fraud. However, police said he has not been charged with any of the home burglaries.
Moreira’s arrest comes as police said the community is being hit with a rash of home burglaries.
Many are still recovering from the floods last September, and now these crimes have them back on edge.
“Everybody`s scared for what`s going on over here because there`s been a lot of burglaries since the flood, so I don`t know,” said Evelyn Stepanski of West Pittston.
According to the criminal complaint, police were led to Moreira after two stolen gift cards were allegedly used by Moreira`s ex-girlfriend at the Kmart in Edwardsville on August 29.
Police said those gift cards were in a purse stolen from a house on Washington Street earlier that day.
Police said Moreira`s ex-girlfriend told them Moreira gave her the cards to buy clothes for their five-year-old daughter.
People in West Pittston said it may be a year since those floods devastated their community, but the trauma still remains. Now to have to deal with the burglaries, people said they are sick of being victims.
“I think it`s not very kind of someone to do that after all of what we`ve been through, and I do hope they get the person,” said Bea Ellis.
Police said they want that too, and they are hoping this arrest leads to more information on the break-ins.
Once again Moreira has not been charged with the burglaries, just receiving stolen property.
Bail was set at $15,000. Moreira was taken to the Luzerne County Prison.