Oil City Man Faces Felony Charges for Easter Sunday Break-In

| May 12, 2018

OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) – An Oil City man is facing felony criminal trespass charges after allegedly admitting to breaking into a residence on Easter Sunday.

Court documents indicate the Oil City Police Department filed criminal charges against 24-year-old Jacob Marcus Rankin, of Oil City.

According to a criminal complaint, at 12:05 p.m. on Sunday, April 1, officers responded to a residence on the 300 block of Central Avenue in Oil City for a report that someone had broken into the caller’s apartment. The caller stated that this had occurred while she and her roommate were at church. In previous incidents, the caller’s apartment had also been broken into on numerous occasions dating back to November of last year.

The complaint states that on this occasion, the front door was kicked in, but nothing was taken from the residence.

The victims told police that they believed Jacob Rankin was the person breaking into the residence. They explained that he knows their work schedules, and he was the only one that was home alone while the victims were in church.

According to the complaint, officers spoke to Jacob Rankin the same day, and he denied having any involvement with the incident.

The complaint goes on to state that on Saturday, May 5, prior to arraignment on other charges, Rankin was taken into an interview room to talk to Ptlm. Ruditis about the burglary that occurred at the Central Avenue residence. According to the complaint, during the interview, Rankin admitted to using his shoulder and forcing his way into the apartment. He stated that once he got through the door, he hit the floor, got up, asked himself what he was doing, and then left the residence.

The complaint also states that Rankin said he had no intention of doing anything to the residence, he just wanted to kick the door in. He said it was only the one time, on Easter (Sunday, April 1), that he broke into the residence because he was angry at one of the residents.

Based on the investigation, Rankin was arraigned at 8:45 a.m. on Friday, May 11, in Magisterial District Judge Andrew F. Fish’s office on the following charges:

– Criminal Trespass-Break Into Structure, Felony 2
– Criminal Mischief-Damage Property, Summary

Rankin is currently free on $5,000.00 unsecured bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23, with Judge Fish presiding.

Rankin is also facing a preliminary hearing on May 23 stemming from an assault that occurred in Oil City on Ma 5.


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