Man draws prison for condo burglary
A Philly man is sent to prison for burglarizing a onetime Playboy model’s Main Line condo.
NORRISTOWN » Saying he took advantage of a vulnerable woman, a judge sent a Philadelphia man to prison for burglarizing a onetime Playboy model’s Main Line condo, just days before she was murdered by another man.
“The defendant took advantage of this victim… who was very vulnerable. There’s something that’s very personal about this crime,” Montgomery County Judge Thomas C. Branca said on Monday as he sentenced Andre Melton to one to four years in state prison in connection with the Aug. 18, 2018, burglary at Christina Rose Kraft’s upscale condo in the 100 block of Sibley Avenue in the Ardmore section of Lower Merion.
Trial testimony revealed Melton, 32, gave Kraft, 36, a ride back to her residence about 3:30 a.m. after she had been out drinking in Philadelphia. It’s unclear how or where Kraft and Melton met. But while Kraft was passed out in his rented vehicle Melton entered her home and stole more than $50,000 worth of jewelry, designer handbags, pillows, designer sunglasses and personal documents belonging to Kraft.
“This was so much more than an invasion of someone’s privacy. Clearly, what happened here is as egregious as a burglary can be,” added Branca, who rejected a defense request for a county jail term. “The nature of this crime is one that speaks and calls for a state sentence. I think anything less would depreciate the seriousness of this crime.”
Branca, during a nonjury trial in December, convicted Melton, of the 6500 block of Theodore Street, of charges of burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.
The judge also ordered Melton to complete three years’ consecutive probation, meaning Melton will be under court supervision for a total of seven years.
“I would like to apologize to the family for any grief or pain that I caused. I am not the bad person like the district attorney is trying to make me out to be,” Melton said before learning his fate.
Assistant District Attorney Roderick M. Fancher III sought a state prison term against Melton. At trial, Fancher argued Melton left Kraft in a vehicle while she was passed out and took her keys, went into her apartment and for an hour-anda-half rifled through her property and collected everything of value that he could find.
Detectives obtained video surveillance from the Sibley Avenue property depicting Melton entering the building about 3:52 a.m. without Kraft. At about 5:30 a.m. Melton, according to video surveillance that was shown to the judge, was observed leaving the property carrying a bag and a box that authorities said contained the stolen items.
At 6:38 a.m. Melton is observed helping Kraft into the first floor lobby of the building, where Kraft collapses to the floor, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Police Officer Randall Hobbs. Melton then left the lobby with Kraft’s purse but returned a few minutes later, assisted Kraft to her feet and placed her in an elevator before leaving the property.
“Miss Kraft was incredibly intoxicated, falling down drunk. She passed out on the floor of the lobby of her condo building. The defendant took advantage of a vulnerable woman. He got access to her apartment and took everything of value,” Fancher argued.
Fancher said when Kraft awoke hours later she didn’t recall the events from the night before but realized her home had been burglarized and she contacted police.
“She spent the remaining days of her life crying. She was distraught. She no longer felt comfortable in her own home,” Alex Ciccotelli, Kraft’s boyfriend, told the judge.
Last year, another man, Jonathan Wesley Harris, 31, of Johnstown, Cambria County, was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, possessing an instrument of crime and strangulation and sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the Aug. 22, 2018, strangulation death of Kraft. Prosecutors said Harris killed Kraft during a violent attack after meeting her in Philadelphia and traveling with her back to her condo.
While investigating both the burglary and the murder, detectives identified suspects in both cases early on.
Authorities said the two crimes were not related and Melton and Harris did not know each other.
During Melton’s trial, defense lawyer Lawrence J. Bozzelli argued prosecutors couldn’t prove that Melton didn’t have Kraft’s permission to take the items. Melton didn’t testify during the trial.
Bozzelli argued for a county jail term for Melton.
Melton wasn’t apprehended until Dec. 5, 2018, during a car stop in Philadelphia. Bozzelli suggested Melton was on the lam so long because he feared being fingered for Kraft’s murder.
When police searched Melton’s residence they found some of the sunglasses and a Gucci purse that had been taken from Kraft’s residence. The jewelry, including an engagement ring, was not recovered, according to testimony.
Kraft, a native of Margate, N.J., previously modeled in photo shoots for Playboy, Vanity Fair, Victoria’s Secret and Maxim.
“There’s something that’s very personal about this crime.”
- Montgomery County Judge Thomas C. Branca