Apollo man accused of selling stolen guitar, biting trooper ordered to stand trial

An Apollo man accused of assaulting a state trooper who arrested him on charges of stealing an electric guitar from a home and selling it to a music shop has been ordered to stand trial.

Jack Russell Frain, 34, of the 500 block of Crowe Street was charged with a felony count of burglary, along with theft, receiving stolen property and theft by deception in connection with a Nov. 17 incident reported at a home in the 500 block of Armstrong Avenue.

He was ordered to stand trial on the charges following a preliminary hearing before District Judge James Andring.

The magistrate also ordered Frain to stand trial on a felony count of aggravated assault and counts of simple assault and resisting arrest for allegedly biting a trooper on the wrist while being taken into custody Dec. 5.

Frain was being detained in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond, court records show.

A state trooper wrote in a criminal complaint that he investigated a report on Nov. 17 that Frain entered the home and stole an Ibanez guitar, which he then sold to a music store.

On Dec. 5, a different trooper responded to a 911 call to Frain’s home for a report of three young children left unattended, investigators said.

When the trooper arrived, a child living in the home answered the door and said Frain wasn’t home, according to a separate criminal complaint filed against Frain.

The trooper wrote that he saw Frain on the couch and told him he was being arrested for the November theft and sale of the guitar.

Frain was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and counts of simple assault and resisting arrest for allegedly biting the trooper on the wrist as he was being taken into custody, according to the complaint.

The trooper also filed four counts of reckless endangerment against Frain. A preliminary hearing on those charges is scheduled for Feb. 6 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec, court records show.

Previous convictions

On Nov. 29, Frain pleaded guilty in a Westmoreland County Court to a misdemeanor count of DUI and was sentenced to six months of probation, court records show. The charges were filed by Allegheny Township police in December 2022.

In June 2017, Frain pleaded guilty to a felony count of retail theft and a count of simple assault and was sentenced to two years in jail and two years of probation, court records show. The charges were filed by state police in Greensburg in September 2016.

Frain also pleaded guilty in 2013 to three felony theft charges and was sentenced to one to three years in prison, court records show. The charges were filed by state police in June 2011.