Police seek Carmichaels man for robbery in Latrobe

Police are looking for a man who is accused of robbing and attacking a woman in an elevator last week in Latrobe.

Heath Allen Rankin, 41, of Carmichaels, was identified by police based on security footage in which a man grabbed a woman’s neck in an elevator at an apartment building.

According to the footage, the woman entered the elevator followed by a white man, believed to be Rankin, whom she did not know. The man wrapped his arms around her neck and took a set of car keys from her purse, along with $4 in cash. He told her not to look at him or he would “blow (her) head off,” then gave her the money back, and replaced the car keys with another set of car keys when they reached the first floor, she told investigators.

The car keys placed in her purse were for a Jeep, and not the woman’s white Honda Accord. The Accord was stolen from the parking lot. The Jeep keys belonged to a vehicle that Rankin is accused of taking from a friend in the Uniontown area, and the friend was able to identify Rankin.

Police said Rankin told the woman he was a detective, and to be more aware of her surroundings and to not call the police.

A warrant has been issued for Rankin. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts or the whereabouts of the white Honda Accord with PA registration LBK8331 is asked to call the Latrobe Police at 724-537-5526 or 9-1-1.