Man awaiting trial for multiple gun charges accused of burglarizing Tarentum home

A Penn Hills man awaiting trial on multiple gun charges faces additional felony counts after his former girlfriend accused him of breaking into her Tarentum home and stealing her belongings.

Finel Javon Thompson, 20, of the 1600 block of Nash Avenue in Penn Hills was charged by Tarentum police with felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass along with counts of receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and false identification to law enforcement.

He was being detained in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bail, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on Wednesday.

In May, Thompson was ordered to stand trial on six felony gun charges filed by the state Attorney General’s Office along with a felony count of fleeing to avoid being apprehended, according to court records.

He was released from custody a day after his April 12 arrest in McKeesport when a Pittsburgh bail agency posted a $50,000 bond on his behalf, court records show.

The woman told investigators Thompson burglarized her home several weeks after they broke up and she had returned all of his belongings, telling him he was not welcome in her home, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

She told police Thompson threatened to break into her house and douse her clothing and furniture in bleach, the complaint said.

After receiving the threat, the woman said, she drove to her home and saw Thompson walking down the street wearing two of her watches. He was carrying a duffel bag filled with packages that were delivered from Amazon and the Shein online clothing store, according to his arrest papers.

The woman said she called police and then followed Thompson, who was stopped by an Allegheny Valley Regional police officer while walking in the 1000 block of Freeport Road, police said.

A Tarentum police officer arrived on the scene to find an Allegheny Valley Regional police sergeant struggling to get Thompson into a patrol vehicle, the complaint said.

Thompson continued to resist efforts by both officers to take him into custody until they threatened to deploy a Taser, police said. When they got him in the back of a patrol car, he continued to “act out” by banging his head against the rear windows and back window, the complaint said.

Tarentum police said Thompson initially gave them a false name and date of birth when he was asked to identify himself.

The woman told police none of the clothing, furniture or other property in her home was damaged, the complaint said.