LUCKY BREAK: COPS COME PROMPTLY FOR ONCE

A pair of suspected burglars got a rude surprise while allegedly breaking into a Scottdale-area home Friday. A gun-toting relative backed up by state police descended on them so quickly that the alleged burglars couldn't return to their waiting car and fled on foot. The troopers happened to be in Scottdale, where 12 people accused in an unrelated burglary ring were being arraigned. The incident occurred near the border of Fayette and Westmoreland counties. The alleged burglars appeared to have scouted homes in Upper Tyrone Township as well. Neighbors complained about two hour-long response times by police after their homes were ransacked.

But not yesterday. "I got here, and police were all over the place. They brought the one (suspect) back here, and he was bold. He looked right at me," said Ted Huffman, where the break-in attempt occurred. "I'm just thankful for my neighbors who were watching." The Huffmans were not at home, but a suspicious neighbor, wary after two prior daytime burglaries, called police and Huffman when an unknown car with two black men inside was seen cruising through the neighborhood. A relative of the Huffmans arrived, confronted the men with a pistol and ordered them to the ground. When they ran, the relative fired several warning shots. Police arrived moments later.

In the manhunt that followed in and around the borough of Everson, police took three people into custody -- one of the suspects and two women from Wilkinsburg who said they had been called to give the alleged burglars a ride.

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