A preliminary hearing has been set for next month for the Smethport man charged with burglary following an hour-long standoff with police at his residence Jan. 22.
Joshua Christopher Pingie, 27, of 101 Emerald Isle, Is charged with burglary, a first-degree felony; theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm prohibited, all second-degree felonies; resisting arrest, a second-degree misdemeanor; disorderly conduct, a third-degree misdemeanor; and two counts of criminal mischief, summary offenses.
A hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 10 before District Judge Bill Todd in Smethport.
According to the criminal complaint, the incident began earlier in the day Jan. 22 when Pingie was at a Keating Township garage getting work done on his car. According to the owner of the garage, he had an AK-47 on the toolbox at the rear of his garage. The owner told police he went in the office to get a receipt and came back out and gave it to Pingie, after which Pingie quickly left, nearly striking another car in the process.
After he left, the owner realized the firearm was missing. The owner called a friend to see where Pingie lived, and went to his residence to retrieve his property. He went to the front door and asked for the firearm back; Pingie complied, the complaint stated.
State police went to Pingie’s residence at 2:50 p.m. to arrest him for burglary, but Pingie refused to come out. He related via telephone that he was not coming out and that “police would have to come get him,” the complaint stated.
It was 4 p.m. before Pingie came out of his residence and was placed under arrest. According to police radio reports, East Water Street in Smethport was shut down while the alleged standoff was underway.
After his arrest, Pingie was taken to the Lewis Run barracks of state police, where he damaged a “marker holder attached to a whiteboard on the patrol room wall,” caused a disturbance at the barracks by screaming repeatedly and damaged leg shackles that were securing him to a bench in the patrol room, the complaint stated.
Pingie remains jailed in lieu of $125,000 bail. He is represented by the McKean County Public Defender’s office.
