Lower Burrell police say a home’s security cameras recorded the man who stole them as he was carrying them away.
In addition to the security cameras, police say, two pistols were stolen, along with an iPhone they were able to use to track him down.
Naseam Lahmer, 30, of Lower Burrell was charged with two counts each of theft and receiving stolen property and a count of burglary, all felonies. He also faces misdemeanor counts of theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief.
Lahmer was being held in Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond, court records show. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Tuesday.
Police wrote in Lahmer’s arrest papers that, last Saturday, officers responded to a call for a firearm theft from a home in the 100 block of Oakridge Drive that Lahmar shared with a roommate.
The roommate told police Lahmer broke through the locked door of his bedroom and stole the two guns, the complaint said.
Lahmer was also accused of taking the man’s iPhone 11, the Ring doorbell camera from the front entrance and a combination floodlight/camera that was mounted outside. Several other Ring cameras were also stolen from inside the house, the complaint said.
Police said the bedroom door was splintered near the lock, and the mount for the doorbell camera was broken. Wires hung from the wall where the light and camera had been mounted, they said.
Investigators said the victim used another phone to access the video recorded by the cameras, which showed Lahmer pulling up to the house in a blue Lexus before tearing the doorbell camera off the door and the floodlight camera from the wall.
A camera in the kitchen shows Lahmer picking the unit up and carrying it away, as well as him loading multiple items from the house into the car, according to the complaint.
The man then used the “find my iPhone” feature on the other phone to locate his device about 2.5 miles away in the 200 block of Freeport Road.
Officers used information from a license plate reader that showed Lahmer’s vehicle traveling toward that location, the police said.
Police said they found him standing outside his car and handcuffed him.
Lahmer told police he and his roommate got into an argument while at a home on Freeport Road and that he went back to the house they shared to gather his belongings, the complaint said.
Lahmer admitted to taking the guns “as collateral” but denied stealing the iPhone, police said.
An officer spotted one of the pistols on the vehicle’s floorboard.
When Lahmer was asked about the other pistol, he responded: “Let me out of these handcuffs, and I will tell you were I put it,” the complaint said.
The police said they declined Lahmer’s request and took him into custody before calling for a tow truck to impound the vehicle and applying for a search warrant.
While waiting for the tow truck, the iPhone’s alarm began to ping, and the device was found behind a mesh grill under the front bumper, the complaint said.
The police did not say in the criminal complaint if the other pistol was recovered.
Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tony by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .