PITTSBURGH — A home invasion suspect who threatened two teenagers after breaking into a Pittsburgh home has been identified and charged.
Jerry Chambers, 59, is facing multiple charges, including burglary, robbery, theft by extortion and aggravated assault.
Police said that when Chambers broke into the home on Beechwood Boulevard in Squirrel Hill on Nov. 29, there were two teens, ages 14 and 15, inside the home in an upstairs bedroom.
One of the teens told police that the suspect came into the room, took both of their phones and demanded they take him to the master bedroom. Once in there, he asked where the jewelry was located and started pulling out drawers in the closet.
According to the criminal complaint, Chambers then took one of the teen’s student ID cards and threatened to kill them if they talked to police.
The parents of one of the teens, who own the home, were able to provide police with Ring camera video, which showed Chambers using a crowbar to break into the side door of the home and leaving the residence 15 minutes later.
Police said that Chambers got away with $19,000 in cash, the student ID, a fake Rolex and an envelope containing metal brackets.
Pittsburgh police said they reviewed hours of video footage from city cameras and observed Chambers before and after the burglary as a passenger in a white GMC pickup truck.
On Nov. 28, a day before the home invasion, police said that video shows Chambers and two other men attempting to steal the registration plate from a Ford pickup truck but were unsuccessful and left.
The video shows a GMC pickup truck and a Chrysler car pulling in behind the Ford truck.
On Dec. 1, authorities chased a truck later believed to be the vehicle involved in the alleged attempted license plate theft.
Court records explained that a group of masked men attempted to steal an ATM from the Sheetz location in Cheswick. It is unclear if Chambers is directly involved in the attempted ATM theft.
Police later learned that the white truck believed to be involved belonged to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and had been scheduled to be returned on Dec. 2 at the company’s Verona location.
Officers eventually spotted the vehicle on Dec. 2 in Verona, conducted a traffic stop and arrested the driver, identified as Chambers.
Court records show Chambers has since been released on a nonmonetary bond.
Chambers was not charged with the Pittsburgh home invasion until after his Verona arrest.
Authorities said that Chambers has an extensive criminal history involving theft and burglary offenses dating back decades. Pittsburgh police said Chambers is a suspect in multiple felony cases that they are investigating between the months of August and November of this year.
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