Man accused of breaking into West Columbus Street residence, forcing family to flee

SHENANDOAH – A Shenandoah man is behind bars after police say he broke into a southside home Friday.

Jeffrey Capiga, 41, of South Ferguson Street, was arraigned Friday on felony burglary and misdemeanor reckless endangerment and criminal mischief charges.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Shenandoah Police Patrolman Mark Hysock, officers were called to the 200 block of West Columbus Street around midnight Friday night for a reported break-in.

The break-in forced a family of six to flee, police said.

When police arrived, they found the glass on the back door had been smashed and backup units were requested from neighboring communities.

When backup arrived, police made entry and found Capiga inside who told police “Go ahead and cuff me up, I shouldn’t be in here,” according to the complaint.

He was taken into custody without incident and told police “I got new charges, I broke the back door down,” without questioning. Borough and West Mahanoy Township police cleared the home and found no one else inside.

Hysock conducted a visual inspection of the rear door, seeing that the door frame had been smashed along with the latch to the door. The door had been locked at the time of the break-in and a replacement would cost $500 or more.

The family of six — a couple and four children — were all home at the time when they heard the break-in. The wife was bathing the children at the time and were forced to flee into the cold as the children were soaking wet.

Capiga was not known to the family prior to the incident, police said.

He was arraigned and committed to Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post $50,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is set for May 1.

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