Police: Lower Burrell man arrested after trespassing on neighbor’s yard, pointing shotgun at people

LOWER BURRELL, Pa. — A Lower Burrell man is behind bars after police say he entered his neighbor’s yard with a loaded shotgun and pointed it at several people.

According to a criminal complaint, Bryan Sarnosky, 48, walked onto the neighboring property in late April while the homeowner and nine other guests were playing yard games.

“I saw a silhouette of a bald man with a shotgun sitting on his shoulder,” the homeowner told Channel 11. “I just had to react, that’s all, a flight or fight thing.”

The homeowner says he has never met Sarnosky, although the suspect’s backyard faces the yard where the incident occurred.

“I got elbow to elbow with him and I acted like I was his best friend,” said the homeowner. “He said he had cameras and we set his cameras off, we were never in his yard, not close to his yard. That’s the reason he said he had to come down here.”

Court documents state Sarnosky raised the 12-gauge shotgun that had a blue laser scope and two rounds inside — with one round ready to fire — multiple times at the crowd.

“As I was talking, he slowly brought the gun down about hip level and I grabbed the barrel with my left hand,” the homeowner told Channel 11. “His hand was actually on the trigger, and I put my hand in front of it.”

According to a criminal complaint, Sarnosky also told the crowd that he belonged to the FBI.

Throughout the unnerving ordeal, the homeowner said that he remained calm and continued to reason with the suspect.

“I didn’t know if the safety was on or not, I was feeling for the safety, and I could never find it and that’s when the cops showed up. I don’t know if it was their lights or their voices, but I felt his grip loosen a little bit on the gun and that’s when I ripped it away from him,” the homeowner said.

Sarnosky now faces over 40 charges including vandalism and defecating in a police car when he was arrested. He was denied bond after being considered a danger to the community.

Several catalytic converters stolen from local auto shop Marty Edwards has been in business for 13 years and never saw an issue with his lot until last week. (WPXI)

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