Police: Man sawed through wall to steal neighbor's quarters

EAST ALLEN TOWNSHIP, Pa., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Police in Pennsylvania said a man sawed a hole from his mother's basement to a neighbor's adjoining home to steal a collection of quarters totaling about $200.

Investigators said an East Allen Township woman told officers she got home from church on Dec. 4 to discover material resembling sheet rock on the stairs and shelves of her basement.

The victim, who also discovered a man-sized hole in the wall covered by a T-shirt, said about $200 worth of quarters separated into 50 envelopes were missing from a living room desk.

Police said the hole led to the basement of an adjoining home, where Sammy Paul Buskirk, 22, was staying with his mother.

Buskirk's mother, Susan, gave police permission to search the home and they found a jigsaw along with a hole covered by a piece of plywood.

Susan Buskirk told police that if "anyone cut a hole in the wall, it would be him [Sammy]."

Police said multiple syringes and unidentified white powder were found in Buskirk's mother's home.

Sammy Buskirk was arrested during the weekend on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. He was jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail.