Four men are facing multiple charges and three of them remain in Cumberland County Prison after allegedly burglarizing and robbing the Theta Xi fraternity house on Sunbeam Court in Shippensburg Township in the early hours of Feb. 8.

Carter E. Brindle, 23, of Chambersburg; Leevon W. Plank, 20, of Chambersburg; Jishaun M. Statum, 19, of Chambersburg; and Nyson T. Keepler, 21, of Shippensburg, are charged with over a dozen offenses, including felony robbery, felony burglary, criminal trespassing and damaging property, per court documents. Keepler also faces multiple weapons charges, including prohibited possession of a firearm.

According to police records, the men were allegedly attending a party at the Theta Xi fraternity house that “was beginning to get out of hand” and spilled into the adjacent parking lot around 5 a.m. on Feb. 8. 

None of the suspects are students at Shippensburg University.

The victim, a Shippensburg University student who is a member of the fraternity, told police that when the situation got out of hand, he ran toward the rear of the house and his bedroom, which includes a door to an outdoor deck. 

Three Black males and one white male were seen on the deck “kicking and punching at his back door” through surveillance cameras, but the video footage cut out as the sounds of a door breaking could be heard, police records say.

Statum, one of the suspects, told police that he met up with the other suspects at the rear of the house but “did not make entry into the house or steal anything,” according to documents.

As the victim’s room was allegedly burglarized, he and other members of the fraternity barricaded themselves within the bathroom, documents say. When he exited, the victim reported multiple items missing from his room, including a Skytech Gaming PC, an Xbox One console, Airpod Pros and a MacBook Pro.

“If the university is made aware of a situation on or off campus that may impact a student, the university does make contact to provide support where possible,” SU Director of Communications and Marketing Megan Silverstrim said. “In this case, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life is working with the students that may have been impacted by this incident.”

Around 6 a.m. on Feb. 8, Pennsylvania State Police at the Chambersburg Barracks were contacted when the victim’s MacBook Pro began pinging at an address in the 200 block of Catherine Street. The homeowner allegedly gave consent for police to search the home, and both Keepler and Plank were detained. 

Plank directed police to the location of the stolen items as well as a red backpack that contained a 40-caliber pistol, $1,400 in cash and 182 grams of marijuana.

Plank later admitted in an interview with state police that he “went into a bedroom before leaving and stole a Macbook and a PC.” Keepler denied entering the bedroom or stealing any items.

Keepler, Plank and Statum each had bail set at $50,000 and remain in Cumberland County Prison. Brindle posted his bail, set at $40,000, on Feb. 12 and was released. 

All four suspects have a preliminary hearing scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on Feb. 19.

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