Two Lake Twp. men are in Lackawanna County Prison after they admitted to breaking into a Madison Twp. home and stealing guns, jewelry and cash worth more than $5,000, then spending $2,000 of it to buy drugs, state police said.
Devin Theodore Pickrell, 25, and Andrew Patrick Coughlin, 25, told police they broke into a home at 2465 Hamlin Highway on Wednesday, stole a .22-caliber rifle and an assault rifle from an office and filled a pillowcase with jewelry, loose change and a "large stack of cash," according to a criminal complaint.
The men stored the stolen items overnight in a shed at Mr. Coughlin's Lake Ariel house and later stashed the guns on state game lands off Fernwood Road and threw the jewelry into the woods.
Mr. Coughlin told police he spent $1,000 of the stolen cash on cocaine and Mr. Pickrell spent $1,000 on heroin. He also showed police the hidden guns in the woods.
Both men were arraigned on Sunday and charged with burglary, trespassing, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. They are each in prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday morning.
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com