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Two men jailed on South Williamsport home break-in

Settling a drug debt appears to be what was behind an attempted burglary that occurred last week at a home in the 1400 block of Kaiser Avenue in South Williamsport, borough police said Thursday.

Taylor Bird, 23, of 1521 W. Southern Ave., South Williamsport, and Michael Bacon, who turned 20 on Tuesday, of Unityville, were arrested Wednesday on felony charges of attempted burglary, conspiracy to burglary and trespassing.

The two, along with a male juvenile, allegedly attempted to break into 1449 Kaiser Ave. by smashing a front door window and forcibly opening the door about 11:50 a.m. on Aug. 29, Sgt. James Taylor said in an affidavit.

Inside the house at the time was Travis Metzger, who lived there, and a friend of his, Daetin Brown, of Williamsport, who was on the couch when the three males attempted to enter the home through the front door, Taylor said.

Upon seeing the three, Brown jumped up and slammed the door, Taylor said, adding that someone on the porch then punched the front door window. Shards of glass caused a severe laceration to Brown’s left arm.

Brown attempted to prevent the three from entering by holding the door closed, but when he realized he was bleeding badly, he grabbed his backpack and bolted out the back door with Metzger yelling, “They’re going to kill me. They’re going to kill me,” Taylor said investigators were told.

As Brown and Metzger sought help from a neighbor, Bird, Bacon and the juvenile bolted from the scene. Numerous police officers swarmed into the neighborhood, but the three could not be found. Brown was treated at the Williamsport Regional Medical Center.

Metzger told police that on the night before the attempted break-in, he accompanied Brown to meet up with Bird to buy an ounce and a half of marijuana from him.

“Brown informed Metzger of his intention to ‘rip off’ Taylor by stealing the marijuana from him. They met with Taylor, and once Brown was holding onto the marijuana, they turned and ran away with it,” Taylor said, adding that Metzger and Brown then “split the marijuana.”

Brown also admitted to police that he and Metzger stole marijuana from Bird the night before. Brown said his share of the marijuana was in his backpack, which police recovered at a nearby driveway.

Metzger told police his share of the marijuana was in a cardboard box in his basement, which officers recovered. No charges have been filed against either Brown or Metzger, but the investigation was ongoing, police said Thursday.

In addition to the burglary-related charges, Bird faces an additional felony charge of possession with intent to deliver marijuana. Following their arraignment before District Judge Gary Whiteman, Bird was committed to the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $40,000 bail while Bacon, formerly of the 1400 block of Dewey Avenue, was jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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