MOUNT CARMEL - Three men were arrested Friday afternoon after police caught them fleeing from a Ralpho Township home they attempted to burglarize by posing as employees of the water company.
The men were charged by Ralpho Township Police Sgt. Chris Kreisher with counts of robbery, burglary, criminal trespassing, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.
Ralpho Township Police were dispatched to the home of Amy and Chester Yocum, 137 S. Maple St., after Tom Bimbo, 46, of Independence, Ohio; Sonny George, 41, of Medford, Mass., and Ricky Mitchell, 39, of Pottstown, allegedly robbed the couple after gaining entry to the home by posing as utility workers checking household water systems because of a break in a main water line.
Amy Yocum told police that George, wearing a white shirt, asked her to turn on the water in the kitchen sink and leave it running. He then pulled up a chair for her to sit on while he was talking on his cell phone. Yocum said George was talking on his cell phone during the entire incident.
While Amy Yocum and George were in the kitchen, Mitchell took Chester Yocum to to the basement, where he told the homeowner to turn on the cold water faucet and leave the water running.
Mitchell then instructed Yocum to go to the water meter on the side wall of the basement and stay there, making sure the meter was running. Mitchell was talking on a cell phone during the entire incident, Yocum told police.
Chester Yocum attempted to go upstairs, but Mitchell pulled him back and told him not to leave the basement. When Yocum got to the main floor of the house, he said he saw Bimbo quickly walk across the living room and exit the house through a side door.
Yocum said he yelled to his wife to call the police while Mitchell and George left the home and fled east on Roosevelt Avenue in a white Chrysler van toward Route 54.
Mount Carmel Township Police observed the van at the intersection of Routes 54 and 61 in Strong and initiated a traffic stop. Chester Yocum was taken by Ralpho Township Police to the traffic stop, where he identified Mitchell as the man who had been in the basement with him and George as the man who had been in the kitchen with his wife. George told police his name was George Swan at the time of the stop.
The couple reported approximately $100 was missing from their bedroom dresser. They also told police that several drawers of another dresser had been opened and searched.
All three men were pre-arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Hugh A. Jones at 6 p.m. in Mount Carmel.
During Mitchell's pre-arraignment, he was handed arrest papers and said, "I can't read it, but will take your word for it."
Bail was set at $100,000 for each man. The three men were taken to Northumberland County Prison. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Wednesday.
Officers from Mount Carmel and Kulpmont police departments, Northumberland County Sheriff's Department and state police at Stonington also assisted.