Man admits burglaries to ‘get his next fix’

An Upper Pottsgrove man is headed to prison after he admitted to committing five residential break-ins in Montgomery and Berks counties to support his drug addiction and “get his next fix.”

Ryan Thomas Swan, 22, of the 1200 block of Whitespire Circle, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 1½ to five years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to five felony counts of burglary in connection with incidents that occurred between September and November 2017 in Upper Pottsgrove and Douglass (Berks) townships.

Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, said Swan is eligible for the state Department of Corrections’ Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive program. The program gives judges a sentencing tool to help drug addicted offenders kick the habits that lead them to commit crimes.

The program, commonly referred to as “Triple R-I,” allows eligible non-violent offenders to receive reductions of their minimum prison sentences if they successfully complete all required treatment and maintain good-conduct records in prison. Prisoners can be released upon completing the program only if officials are satisfied that the offenders pose no risks to public safety.

If Swan successfully completes the program’s requirements, he could be eligible

to be released from prison after serving 13 ½ months of his minimum sentence.

The judge also ordered Swan to pay $3,243 in restitution to the victims of the burglaries.

An investigation of Swan began at 5:35 a.m. Nov. 27, 2017, when Upper Pottsgrove police responded to a report of suspicious activity at an unoccupied residence in the 1300 block of Farmington Avenue. When police arrived at the home, which was for sale, they discovered a pickup truck on the driveway and Swan exiting a garage, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Pottsgrove

Police Officer Sean Farrell.

Swan initially told police he was on the property because he was thinking about purchasing it. But police determined the garage door and a side door of the residence had been forced open, according to the criminal complaint.

“It appeared I had interrupted the defendant stealing items from the garage,” Farrell alleged.

Police also detected the odor of burnt marijuana coming from Swan’s pickup truck and when they inspected the vehicle they found two glass pipes. Swan allegedly admitted he used one pipe to smoke marijuana and the other to

smoke methamphetamine, according to the criminal complaint.

“I observed the bed of the defendant’s vehicle had a large amount of work tools, power tools, garden and landscaping tools along with other items. I observed the interior of the vehicle also was filled with the same type of items the rear bed had,” Farrell alleged.

Investigators were aware of a rash of burglaries in Upper Pottsgrove and surrounding areas during which similar-type tools were reported stolen. Armed with a warrant, detectives subsequently searched Swan’s

vehicle and recovered 109 items which had been reported stolen during other burglaries in Upper Pottsgrove and Douglass (Berks), according to the arrest affidavit. Some of the items recovered even were engraved with one victim’s name.

Those burglaries occurred in the 700 block of Evans Road, Douglass (Berks), and in the 100 block of Butternut Drive, the 900 block of Farmington Avenue and the 2100 block of Gilbertsville Road in Upper Pottsgrove, according to the criminal complaint.

The investigation determined Swan sold some stolen items at a local pawn

shop.

Swan subsequently was interviewed about the stolen items.

“Swan stated he was sorry for all of the stolen property. Swan stated that most of the time he was under the influence of meth, he had no job and he needed to support his drug habit,” Farrell alleged. “The defendant was able to identify most of the properties he had burglarized.”

Swan told investigators that after stealing the items he would take them to a pawn shop or list them for sale on Facebook and other social media sites and sell them “so he could get his next fix.”