Teen accused in break-in
SLIPPERY ROCK — A Venango County teenager is accused of breaking into a vacant apartment after police say they found him sleeping on a couch there.
The drowsy defendant, Andrew K. Bryson, 19, of Franklin, apparently had one beer too many, according to court documents, when he made his unlawful pit stop early Sunday morning at the Sentinel Apartment Complex in Slippery Rock.
Bryson ended up sleeping it off at the Butler County Prison. He faces felony trespass and other charges.
Slippery Rock police said they were called to the apartment complex on Fairview Drive shortly before 5 a.m. for a report of someone kicking in a door.
Patrolman Jake Ingram found a damaged door frame to one of the apartments. The door had been busted open and the locking mechanism was destroyed.
The apartment, it turned out, had previously been vacated and there were no working utilities. But on the sofa near the wall, the officer found Bryson fast asleep.
Ingram called Slippery Rock University police for back up before he awoke the suspect, who had a “strong odor” of alcohol, documents said.
The teen had no identification and no permission to be there, according to authorities.
He was arrested and eventually admitted to drinking beer. Police placed him in the county prison until later that morning when he was arraigned on a felony charge of trespass.
Additionally, he is charged with criminal mischief and underage drinking. Bryson also remains behind bars for a probation violation.
