Waterloo Police have arrested a Hazleton man, for allegedly breaking through the ceiling of a convenience store, during an attempted burglary.


23-year-old Michael Lewis was taken into custody Sunday (July 29), when an officer spotted a man matching the description of the suspect. Lewis was walking on Allen Street, carrying a backpack which contained a pry bar, a grinding tool, syringes, and a digital scale with some white residue.

The attempted burglary happened just before 4:00 a.m. on July 24th, at the Three Star Mart on Jefferson Street in Waterloo. Officers responded to an alarm, but did not find anyone. Later, store employees determined that someone had crashed through the ceiling of the store, then fled.

Prior to falling through the ceiling, the suspect tried to pick the lock on the front door of the closed store.

The burglar then climbed onto the roof, crawled through a hatch, then fell through the tiled ceiling. Lewis told police that he went onto the roof to look for rocks.

Lewis is being charged with 3rd Degree Burglary, Possession of Burglary tools, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

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