Repeat burglar heads to prison
Break-ins spanned several townships, including Franconia
NORRISTOWN >> A Perkiomen man who once served a stint in a county jail for residential break-ins has graduated to state prison after he continued his criminal activity upon release from jail.
Benjamin Troy Lopez, 24, formerly of the 1500 block of Gravel Pike, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to six to 20 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of burglary and theft by unlawful taking in connection with incidents that occurred between February and March 2016. Judge Garrett D. Page also ordered Lopez to complete 60 hours of community service and to pay $12,273 in restitution in con-
nection with his crimes.
The burglaries or attempted burglaries linked to Lopez occurred at residences in Lower Frederick, Franconia and Lower Providence townships, according to court records.
All of the burglaries occurred during the morning hours and jewelry and cash was taken during the break-ins, according to a criminal complaint filed by Lower Providence Detective Sgt. Terrence Kennedy.
Windows were forced open or smashed by rocks in order to gain entry to many of the homes, court documents indicated.
One of the burglaries was carried out while the homeowner was in the shower, according to court documents.
Detectives got a break in the case when in March 2016 they conducted checks of area pawn shops and linked Lopez to a sale transaction involving two stolen watches, according to the criminal complaint. With the help of store surveillance video detectives were able to identify Lopez
as the person in the pawn shop.
When confronted with the allegations, Lopez admitted to the break-ins and told detectives he either sold the jewelry on the streets of Philadelphia or sold the items at area pawn shops. A woman who authorities alleged acted as a “lookout” or drove Lopez around during the burglaries told authorities they would drive to Philadelphia and sell the jewelry for cash and also use stolen cash to purchase heroin, according to the arrest affidavit.
Lopez also admitted to
stealing the vehicle of a female acquaintance in Limerick in March 2016.
It’s not the first time Lopez has been in trouble with the law.
In January 2014, Lopez, then 21 and of the 1000 block of Cemetery Road in Skippack, was sentenced to 11 ½ to 23 months in the county jail, plus eight years of probation, after he pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts of burglary and attempted burglary in connection with breakins that occurred between February and June 2013. Those Perkiomen Valley area burglaries netted Lopez
about $28,400 in stolen goods, prosecutors said at that time.
The 2013 burglaries or attempted burglaries occurred at residences in Schwenksville Borough and Limerick, Skippack, Perkiomen, Upper Salford, Lower Frederick and West Norriton townships.
It’s unclear when Lopez was paroled on the 2014 sentence. But court records indicate Lopez also received drug treatment under that 2014 sentence.