Man charged in Blairsville carjacking also accused in Derry Township burglary

A man being held on charges related to a July 12 Blairsville carjacking also is accused of burglarizing a Derry Township food trailer the same day.

Michael Aaron Whitfield, 36, was extradited from Georgia, where he was picked up by troopers on July 13, spotted driving a pickup reported stolen from Derry Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Whitfield, who is listed in court documents as living in either Greensburg or Monessen, was identified as a suspect in the burglary through video surveillance captured during an attempted break-in at another nearby Derry Township business, according to police.

Police have accused Whitfield of cutting a woman in her 60s in the face and neck during a morning carjacking July 12 outside a personal care home in Blairsville. A 9-year-old child with the woman was able to jump out of the SUV as the suspect started driving away, according to court documents.

The SUV was abandoned on Pizza Barn Road in Derry Township, police said.

Police allege Whitfield then attempted to open a window between 6:15 and 7:55 a.m. July 12 at Lee’s Ice Cream in the 2200 block of Route 217 in Derry Township.

At about the same time, police say, Whitfield broke into the nearby Kettle Dad’s BBQ food trailer, causing about $1,800 worth of damage to a door, a cash register, a window and a card reader. One dollar was reported stolen from a tip jar at the food trailer, and suspected blood was found inside the trailer and smeared on a window at Lee’s, according to police.

In addition, a Ford F-250 pickup was reported stolen that morning from the Lee’s property. It had been left unlocked with the keys in the cupholder, police said.

A state trooper and three of Whitfield’s acquaintances identified him as the person appearing in a surveillance image from Lee’s Ice Cream, police said.

On July 13, Pennsylvania authorities learned the Georgia Highway Patrol had taken Whitfield into custody without incident during a traffic stop while he was in the stolen pickup, according to police.

Whitfield was arraigned Friday before Derry Township District Judge Kelly Tua Hammers on charges of burglary, trespass, theft by unlawful taking and criminal mischief.

In the Blairsville case, he earlier was charged with attempted homicide, attempted kidnapping, robbery and related offenses.

Denied bail in both the Blairsville and Derry Township cases, Whitfield is being held in the Indiana County Jail.

Preliminary hearings are set for Oct. 11 in the Blairsville case and for Oct. 25 in the Derry Township case.