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Man sought in attempted break-in

Lansford police are looking for William Barnes, 35, of 237 W. Patterson St., Lansford, who faces charges from an incident which took place on Jan. 28 at Marco's Pizza, 10 W. Ridge St. Barnes is charged with criminal attempt, loitering or prowling at night, disorderly conduct, trespassing and public drunkenness. A charge of criminal mischief is also expected, pending a cost estimate of damages.

Barnes had been freed on $10,000 unsecured bond.According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Officer Jason A. Helmer with District Judge Casimir Kosciolek of Lansford, here's what happened:Pizza place owners Patricia and Sal Loduca called Helmer at 10:30 p.m. Jan. 28 to report an attempted break-in. The shop had been closed that day, and they watched a surveillance video that showed a man acting suspiciously for more than an hour, between 2 and 3:30 a.m.The video showed the man pacing back and forth, looking around the shop. Then he walked up to the entrance, picked up a concrete flower planter and heaved it at the front door. Helmer went to the shop and saw pieces of broken concrete on the ground near the entrance and marks on the glass entrance door and window. The planter didn't break the window.Helmer spoke with patrolman Joshua Tom, who was on duty from 11:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. that night. Tom told Helmer he recalled seeing Barnes around the area of the pizza shop and believed he was the person who tossed the planter.Video footage from around the police station, which is across Ridge Street from the pizza shop, showed a man, later determined to be Barnes, lingering around the station and dismantling a cigarette receptacle near the entrance. Barnes was shown walking across the street and opening storage doors in a utility truck.At 1:36 a.m. Jan. 29, Tom encountered Barnes and took him to the police station for questioning. Barnes waived his Miranda rights and admitted to loitering around the pizza shop, saying he was waiting for a friend. Barnes said he became angry when the friend failed to show up, and he threw the planter at the window.Barnes said he had taken Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug which he said makes him behave abnormally and out of character.Police watched the video from Marco's that showed Barnes pacing back and forth around the entrance. Barnes was shown cupping his hands around his face to peer inside the shop, then walking away and kicking a concrete bench as if to see whether it was anchored to the ground. He walked up to the entrance again, and picked up the planter and threw it.