A spate of daytime residential break-ins affecting a wide swath of homes in Chester and Delaware counties prompted the formation of a police task that caught two men burglarizing a Pocopson Township home on Wednesday, Dec. 9, police said.
Daniel S. Freas, 29, of Birmingham Township, and David J. Lee, 36, of Oxford, were taken into custody after a member of the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department located one of the vehicles that witnesses had linked to some of the burglary scenes. It was traveling west on Route 926 in Westtown Township on Dec. 9, said a press release from the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department.
Westtown-East Goshen detectives and a state trooper from the Media barracks followed the vehicle onto Revolutionary Drive in Birmingham Township, and the driver picked up his alleged accomplice. The surveillance team followed the vehicle into Pocopson Township, where it backed into a driveway in the 700 block of Beversrede Trail, the release said.
Once police established a perimeter around the area, officers from Westtown-East Goshen, Birmingham, Willistown and Pennsylvania State Police located Freas in the vehicle and saw Lee exit the rear of the home with a jewelry box and pillowcase – typically used to collect stolen items – in his hands. Police apprehended Lee after a brief foot chase. Both men were in possession of hand-held portable radios to communicate with one another, police said.
Westtown-East Goshen Det. William Cahill said about 20 forced-entry burglaries have occurred during the past six months in areas of Delaware and Chester counties covered by the Pennsylvania State Police from both the Media and Avondale barracks; police departments in Willistown, Newtown (Delaware County), Westtown Township, Thornbury Township, East Goshen Township, West Goshen Township, Birmingham Township and East Bradford townships and West Chester Borough. The Chester County District Attorney’s Office and Chester County Detectives assisted the task force, the release said.
Cahill said it was too early to determine how many of the burglaries involved Lee and Freas, and he said more information would be released as the investigation continues.
The vehicle recovered at the scene was towed to the Pennsylvania State Police’s Avondale barracks for further investigation. Willistown detectives located a second vehicle linked to the break-ins in Oxford, and arrangements were made to transport it to the Avondale barracks for further scrutiny as well, the release said.
The task force is now reviewing evidence and conducting searches in an attempt to recover as much stolen property as possible, police said. In most cases, entry was gained by forcing open a door to enter the residence. The suspects would then go directly to the master bedroom where jewelry boxes and pillowcases were taken.
Magisterial District Judge Daniel J. Maisano arraigned Lee and Freas on Thursday, Dec. 10, on charges related to the Pocopson burglary witnessed by detectives, according to court records. Neither was able to post $25,000 cash bail, records said. The release said state parole agents would also file detainers on both men to keep them in prison until additional evidence is developed and charges can be filed for other burglaries linked to them.
In the meantime, police ask that anyone with information about Lee or Freas to contact the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department at 610-692-5100. Information can also be emailed to the Burglary Task Force at detectives@westtownpolice.org and it will disseminate the details to all agencies involved, the release said.
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