‘You were in my house?’: Woman confronts intruder who allegedly napped in her home

By Nick Matoney

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    MOUNT PLEASANT TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — State police said a burglary suspect slept in the bed of the master bedroom of a Westmoreland County home he had entered illegally.

Christopher Sherrick, 35, of Irwin, is charged with burglary and other offenses connected to Thursday’s incident at a home on Mount Joy Road.

The homeowner who confronted Sherrick, Ruth Ann Hoffman, said she wasn’t surprised at first when she saw a stranger on her property.

“We occasionally get a wrong turn down here. Nobody just comes down this driveway because it’s really out-of-the-way,” Ruth Ann Hoffman said.

Hoffman said she had just returned from a three-hour trail ride when she saw Sherrick standing in her driveway.

“At the beginning, I was just trying to be helpful, like, ‘what address are you looking for?’” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said Sherrick claimed he was told to come there and insisted he was in the right place. When she asked him to leave, she said he admitted he filled up her dog’s outdoor water bowl and went into her home and took a nap.

“I said, ‘you were in my house, and he goes, ‘yeah, I took a nap in your house,’ and I said, ‘where at in my house?’” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said she immediately called 911, but Sherrick didn’t go anywhere. She said he sat down on her swingset and waited.

When troopers arrived, Hoffman said Sherrick told them the same story. He was charged with burglary and criminal trespassing.

“He was here for three hours before I got home and was in and out of my house several times, laying in my bed,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said Sherrick’s wallet, phone charger, and keys were on the nightstand.

“You see your bed and your covers are turned over, knowing some stranger was lying in your bed, it just creeped you out,” Hoffman said.

The doors and facilities she once left unlocked when close by riding the trails are now under lock and key.

“It’s very upsetting, you know, we have to lock up whereas before we just felt comfortable here, because you weren’t out and exposed all the time,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said Sherrick didn’t take anything but her sense of security.

“Fortunately, there was no harm physically, but there is mentally. I’m going to have problems getting over this,” Hoffman said.

Police said, after being taken into custody, Sherrick admitted to being in the house and tried to bribe troopers with money to let him go free.

Sherrick faces a preliminary hearing later this month.

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