Heroin spurs theft spree, jail time

West Whiteland man stole valuables from friends to feed his habit

WEST CHESTER >> A West Whiteland man whose crimes were called “the quintessential version of the heroin epidemic” was sentenced to prison for stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry and flatware from the homes of family friends to fund his addiction.

Common Pleas Judge Patrick Carmody Thursday rejected the request of defense attorney for Brett Belvedere to keep his client out of prison and to let him continue his path to recovery and instead sentenced the 31-year-old to five to 23 months in Chester County Prison, followed by four years of probation.

Belvedere, who wrote a letter to Carmody prior to sentencing in which he detailed the history of his opioid addiction and attempts kick his habit, also was

ordered to undergo random drug testing, and to pay $36,383 in restitution to his two victims, families who he had been close friends with.

He was taken from the courtroom to begin serving his prison sentence at the conclusion of the sentencing proceeding, according to court records.

The thefts were from two homes, one in East Brandywine and another in Upper Uwchlan. The cases were investigated by East Brandywine Detective Dan Orris and Upper Uwchlan Corporal Brian Gathercole, starting in March 2016.

Belvedere eventually admitted to taking jewelry and silverware from

the two homes and stashing it at his residence in Exton over a period of months in 2015 and 2016. Then he would take individual items to the American Cash Traders pawn shop in Coatesville and get cash in return, which he would then spend on Oxycontin or heroin.

Police eventually recovered more than 300 items in Belvedere’s home they identified as being stolen from the two homes, as well as possibly others.

According to defense attorney Gregory DiPippo of King of Prussia, who represented Belvedere, his “downward spiral can be directly traced to his opiate addiction. His criminal conduct is the quintessential version of the heroin epidemic that is ripping through this country and leaving a passion in its wake.”

Prior to becoming addicted, Belvedere had no criminal record and was a trusted friend off the families he ended up stealing from.

“(They were) people that he knew for the better part of his life,” DiPippo wrote in a memorandum for Carmody’s benefit. “These families trusted (him) implicitly. They even gave him keys so that he could walk the families’ dogs.”

In his letter, Belvedere said he started using opiates with a former girlfriend who would take them from her father, who had had knee surgery and was prescribed them. He became addicted without knowing it, and suffered withdrawal symptoms when he could not find any of the drugs to buy or could not afford them.

The withdrawal pains, “made me seek out any way possible to continue my habit,” he wrote. “I started doing things I would never do and thought I would never do … stealing to support my addiction and avoid the withdrawal. I could (not) stand the person I was becoming.”

He said an initial attempt at rehabilitation ended when he dated a girl who was also a heroin addict and who relapsed. He was ultimately charged with heroin possession in July by Downingtown police, who found him passed out in his car. Since then he had successfully completed another rehab program. “I learned the best things to do for myself in my recovery and am doing these things to keep myself on the right track,” he

wrote.

The thefts in East Brandywine were discovered in March, and Belvedere was identified at the pawn shop as the one who had been selling items there since July 2015. He confessed in an interview with Orris, and also said he had stolen items from another house in Upper Uwchlan where he had been a guest.

In all, he was ordered to pay $21,383 to the victims in the East Brandywine thefts and $15,000 to the victims in the Upper Uwchlan case.

He pleaded guilty in September to two counts of theft by unlawful taking and one count of possession of a controlled substance.