SMITHTON, Pa.,None — Four suspects charged in connection with a violent home invasion in Smithton, Westmoreland County, appeared in court on Wednesday.
Investigators said two of the suspects are part-time police officers.
Police said three men and a woman broke into a 40-year-old woman's home along Fort Street on Sept. 16, tied her up and used duct tape on her face.
Michael Traynor, 31, of Smithton; Brian Buchman, 36, of Pittsburgh; Heather Young, 26, of Belle Vernon; and Micael Villella have been charged with aggravated assault and burglary, among other charges.
Channel 11 News confirmed that Buchman and Villella are part-time police officers with the Stowe Township and East Deer police departments.
According to the criminal complaint, Traynor, the victim's ex-boyfriend, asked Young and Buchman to go to the house, tie up the victim and make it look like a robbery.
According to the criminal complaint Traynor offered to pay Buchman for his help and said "it would only take 20 minutes."
"He's accustomed to being on the other side of the law, so this is creating an especially difficult problem for him to face," said Buchman's attorney David Shrager.
Traynor apparently returned to the home the following morning and called police.
"We have a couple of different things that we're looking at," said state police Trooper Robin Mungo. "We cannot confirm a motive at this point in time."
Jewelry worth more than $4,000 was stolen, along with video game equipment, police said.
Channel 11 reporter Courtney Brennan reported that Young had a three year relationship with Traynor. Her attorney said she may have been forced to participate in the incident.
"I'm not sure if you saw the large police officer that's involved is a rather large gentleman and somewhat intimidating and my client is a small, younger girl and as I said her involvement may not have been in her own volition," said Young's attorney Kenneth Baldonieri.
Police said the four charged in the case are all employee of a gentlemans club.
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