Johnstown man sentenced to probation for breaking into uncle's home
Nov. 9—EBENSBURG, Pa. — A Johnstown man was sentenced Tuesday for repeated break-ins to his uncle's home.
Shawn Michael Liptak, 31, was sentenced to three years of probation by Judge Patrick T. Kiniry on charges of disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing and criminal mischief in the January incident.
Liptak's attorney, Maureen McQuillan, told the court that he has a job lined up upon release and previously had a behavioral health assessment and had been following through with treatment before his current incarceration.
Assistant District Attorney Erin Dominick asked the court for a drug and alcohol assessment as Liptak has a past history of substance use that may play a role in his behavior and that he have no contact with his uncle.
Kiniry granted the requests.
According to two criminal complaints at the time of the incident, Liptak allegedly broke into a home along Garfield Street after midnight. When the homeowner returned, he found footprints in the snow that belonged to Liptak, who he said he had recently left a halfway house at the time.
In the complaint, police said that when Liptak returned to the residence, they found him pounding on a back window. Liptak said he wanted his medications. The man said he did not have them. Liptak jumped down from the stairs and fled, and was later found by police near Fairfield Avenue.
The Tribune-Democrat archives show that Liptak also was charged with breaking into the home on Oct. 18, 2018, and again on Dec. 5, 2018.
