Morrisdale man pleads guilty to burglary

A Morrisdale man pleaded guilty Monday in Clearfield County Court to burglarizing a Lawrence Township residence in June.

Samuel Dean Kovach, 29, pleaded guilty before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman, who sentenced him to two to five years in state prison.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, a neighbor noticed a vehicle registered to a Houtzdale woman near a vacant residence on Guinea Hill Road. When police arrived, they were not able to find anyone but could see that copper wire and pipes had been removed. Two men were spotted in the area while they were allegedly stripping wire from its rubber sheathing. The men, Kovach and Matthew Dean Harvey, were taken into custody. Two witnesses confirmed that Kovach was inside the residence. Kovach claimed they were permitted to be there.

The owner of the home was contacted and verified the men were not permitted to be in the building.

Kovach later admitted to police that he removed a tote full of wiring from the residence. He also reportedly stated that Harvey was not at the house and had no idea Kovach was inside it.

A search of court records showed no charges have been filed against Harvey.

Kovach pleaded guilty in a second case to assault for which he received a concurrent one year probation sentence.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Morrisdale man pleads guilty to burglary."