Victim on arrest of serial burglar in West Chester: 'One of my worst nightmares'

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- Police in West Chester arrested a man who they believe is responsible for a series of burglaries over the summer.

Lawrence Dass, 27, of Brookhaven, is charged with five counts of burglary and related offenses.

The first burglary was on August 17, 2024, on South High Street. In that case, police said that Dass was stealing a TV when the homeowner checked on the house.

"The resident discovered he was in the house. When he saw the resident, he jumped out of the window to flee the residence," said West Chester Police Chief Joshua Lee.

Over the next two days, at least four other burglaries were reported -- including the theft of a ballistic vest and badge from a police car -- while the officer was investigating an incident.

"Honestly, it was one of my worst nightmares," said Abbi Brango, whose home was broken into on August 19.

She came home to find her house had been broken into and some of her belongings missing, including high-end cowboy boots and even her Ring doorbell camera.

Ever since that break-in, she was constantly worried it could happen again.

"I couldn't sleep. We have barricade at our front door and everything," Brango said. "He could be a street away or a block away, that was scary."

She is resting a little easier knowing that the suspect has been caught.

Police said during an investigation they found Brango's stolen Ring doorbell camera with a bottle of juice next to it and swabbed it for DNA.

"We were able to determine it came from one of the residences that was burglarized and we were able to tie DNA from that to the suspect," said Lee.

However, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe is concerned that Dass could be connected to other crimes and is asking the public to come forward.

"When people do one of these burglaries, they are inclined to do more. We don't know precisely when he started. We don't know precisely when he ended," de Barrena-Sarobe said.

Dass is being held on $50,000 bond and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for January 21.