A brazen burglar broke into four West Chester homes, and a police car, over the span of a few hours, DA says

A Brookhaven man broke into at least four homes and one vehicle within a few hundred feet of each other over the span of a few hours in August, stealing jewelry, electronics and, in one incident, a West Chester police officer’s ballistic vest and badge, according to prosecutors in Chester County.

Lawrence Dass, 27, has been charged with burglary, receiving stolen property and related crimes. He remained in custody Saturday, in lieu of $50,000 bail. Investigators estimate that the combined value of the items he stole was $4,668.

Court records show that after Dass’ arrest on Tuesday, he was charged with receiving stolen property and related crimes in Montgomery County, due to a February 2024 incident in Collegeville.

“Burglars destroy our sense of security in our homes,” Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement. “Thanks to a combination of good police work and an ability to leverage technology during the investigation, West Chester is a safer place.”

On Aug. 17, the owner of a home on South High Street in West Chester came downstairs to find Dass carrying his television, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. Dass fled when confronted, dropping the television and jumping “full force” through a window.

The homeowner found other items belonging to him, including another television, a guitar, and a PlayStation 4 video game console, piled near the home’s rear door.

Dass was wearing an Allen Iverson 76ers jersey, and that distinctive piece of clothing helped identify him as a suspect in four other burglaries over the span of the next few hours, the affidavit said.

Less than a half-hour later, as a West Chester police officer arrived to investigate the reported burglary on High Street, Dass snuck into the officer’s patrol car through its passenger door and stole the officer’s ballistic vest and badge from the vehicle’s back seat, the affidavit said.

On Aug. 19, a homeowner on Magnolia Street said she came home to discover that her front door had been kicked in. Some of her valuables were missing, and her Ring doorbell camera had been ripped off her front door’s frame, the affidavit said.

Investigators later learned that the Magnolia Street home had actually been broken into two days earlier, about an hour after the home on High Street.

The stolen camera was later discovered discarded in a nearby backyard, along with a bottle of iced tea stolen from another home on Magnolia Street a few doors down from the first. According to the affidavit. DNA found on the device was a match for Dass.

The pilfered iced tea led police to the third burglary they say Dass committed on Aug. 17, in which he stole several pairs of shoes, $150 cash and two televisions, the affidavit said. Surveillance footage from the home shows Dass climbed in through an unlocked window.

When he left that residence, the affidavit said, he was seen carrying the stolen ballistic vest and police badge.

Hours later, just before 5 a.m. on Aug. 18, Dass broke into a West Chester University fraternity house on South Walnut Street, the affidavit said, stealing sneakers and other valuables.

Surveillance footage from the area captured Dass’ face and build, which investigators said helped identify him from previous criminal investigations in other nearby jurisdictions.

The final burglary Dass is charged with was reported on Aug. 20, in which he entered a home on South High Street through an unlocked window, according to the affidavit. Nothing was reported stolen, but fingerprints left behind on the window sill were a match for Dass, investigators said.