Worker jailed for jewelry theft from homeowner

NORRISTOWN » A Phoenixville man is on his way to jail for stealing jewelry from a Collegeville residence while he was working on a home improvement project for the homeowner.

Kenneth John Ewald, 49, of the first block of Nutt Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft by unlawful taking in connection with a May 2017 incident at a residence along East Ninth Avenue in Collegeville.

Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Ewald to complete four years’ probation, meaning Ewald will be under court supervision for about six years. The judge also ordered Ewald to pay the victim $9,900 in restitution in connection with the jewelry theft.

An investigation began in June 2017, when a Collegeville resident reported to borough police that she discovered jewelry missing from her home shortly after workers had completed a painting project at her residence. The painters had full

access to the residence in May while they were painting the windows and doors, police said.

The homeowner initially confronted the lead contractor about the missing jewelry and it was determined that Ewald, a man who worked for the contractor, had taken the jewelry. Ewald apologized and told the homeowner he had sold the jewelry at two local pawn shops, according to the criminal complaint.

When the victim went to the first pawn shop, she learned that the items had already been “melted down,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Collegeville Detective Gerard A. Milburn. At the second pawn shop, the homeowner

learned that only one ring remained and the victim purchased it back for $90, according to court documents.

The victim reported to police that 19 items of jewelry went missing from her home. During the investigation, detectives obtained copies of receipts from the two pawn shops at which Ewald sold the items.

Detectives also interviewed Ewald.

“Ken Ewald admitted while he was working at the (victim’s) residence he took jewelry he observed in a bowl. He said he took the jewelry to pay some bills and only took what he thought would get him through the end of the month,” Milburn wrote in the arrest affidavit.