New Enterprise Man Jailed for Burglary of Duncansville Golf Shop

A New Enterprise man was jailed last week after police said he attempted to break into a Duncansville golf shop.

According to charges filed by Blair Township police, on Aug. 7, an officer was patrolling the area of Golf World, 139 Golf World Lane, around 2:30 a.m. when he heard what sounded like glass breaking.

While investigating, the officer saw a male wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and jeans run from the front entrance of Golf World into a wooded area along Dunnings Highway.

Police observed that the front door of Golf World was smashed out. They began a search along Dunnings Highway in an attempt to locate the individual spotted running from the scene.

Blair Township police called in a K-9 unit from Logan Township in Altoona to help with the search.

While waiting for the other units to respond, Officer Nathan Hale of the Blair Township Police Department located a black Dodge Charger parked along Dunnings Highway, across from Harker Farm Road.

Police noted in the charges that the windows of the vehicle were fogged up and that the grille was warm to the touch. Police ran the registration of the vehicle and determined the owner to be Dwight J. Imler, 25, of New Enterprise.

Police contacted the owner of Golf World and requested video from the shop’s surveillance video.

The video allegedly showed a man wearing the same type of clothing the officer saw the male running from the scene wearing.

The video also showed the male was carrying a flashlight and a hammer. It also recorded the suspect shining the flashlight through a side door window before walking to the front of the business. Police said the suspect then hit the front glass door with the hammer, causing it to shatter. The suspect is also shown inside the business “lurking around” before walking out and fleeing when police arrived.

While police were still on the scene waiting for the owner of Golf World to secure his business, they were contacted by the Blair County 911 Center informing them that Imler was on the phone reporting that his car was broken down along Dunnings Highway.

When police made contact with Imler at his vehicle, they noted that Imler was wearing jeans, dark boots and a gray T-shirt that was wet in the front from what police believe was heavy sweating.

Police said Imler’s jeans were wet and muddy and that his boots were “extremely wet” and covered with grass and mud.

While police were talking with Imler, his brother arrived on the scene and told police Imler called him multiple times beginning at 2:13 a.m. and said he was walking around a building and took off running when he saw a car coming.

Imler faces felony charges of burglary and criminal trespass along with misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief.

He was lodged in the Blair County Prison on 10 percent of $20,000 bond.