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Police say an employee broke in and trashed a Robinson business

PITTSBURGH — A local business owner says a man was desperate for a job, so he helped him out.

But that kindness was not returned. Instead, police say that employee came back after hours and trashed the workplace.

"It wasn’t that I hired him, but he came in. He was desperate. Said he needed a job. He was willing to do anything needed to be done so we gave him a chance," said Jon Hodgkiss.

When Hodgkiss hired Christopher Melton to do a few odd jobs on the outside of his deck building business in Robinson, he had no idea what was in store.

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How much destruction was done in your place?  "About $17,000 between the materials he stole and the damage he did," Hodgkiss said.

Instead of returning Hodkiss' good wil, police said Melton came back when the business was closed.

"He smashed the front door in with a cinder block," Hodgkiss said.

Once inside, police said Melton did even more damage.

Hodgkiss replaced the front door of his business, but his faith in second chances will be much harder to find next time

The crime happened just before Christmas. Police filed charged on Thursday.