Local man sentenced for burglary
NORRISTOWN — A Souderton man who was convicted in a bench trial of stealing an iPad and $100 in change from a home in Montgomery Township in June 2013 was sentenced to three to six years in a state prison on Tuesday.
Bibiano Ocasio, 52, of the 100 block of East Main Street, was also ordered to pay $100 restitution to the victim. Additionally he was sentenced to three to six months in prison after pleading on guilty on Tuesday to driving under the influence in Lansdale in March 2013. He will get credit for time served in prison since June 3, 2013.
Ocasio was found guilty of one count of burglary, two counts of theft by unlawful taking and two counts of receiving stolen property in a one-day bench trial in June in front of Judge Carolyn Carluccio.
An investigation began on June 1, 2013, when a Montgomery Township police officer responded to the 500 block of Victoria Court at 9:42 a.m. for a report of a burglary. The victim told police he left his home at noon on May 31 and returned home at midnight on June 1 and found the rear sliding door was left open. He said he found that a five-gallon water jug with approximately $100 was missing along with an iPad valued at $700.
One witness told police that around 7 p.m. on May 31 he saw a dark skinned man exiting from in between the houses of the 300 and 500 building on Victoria Court. He said the man looked like he was in his 40s, stocky build and was around 5 feet 8 inches tall. The witness said he was carrying what appeared to be “an old bird cage held under a towel or sheet.” Police believed the witness was describing the jug with change in it.
A second witness described a similar male but added the man left the area in a Cadillac that was either dark blue or black with a cream top.
On June 2, 2013, the victim told police he was able to track the iPad to a house on the 100 block of Main Street in Souderton. A Souderton police officer told investigators that there was a dark colored 1990s Cadillac parked in the rear of an apartment building on Main Street. A neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, told police where the owner of the Cadillac lived.
Police knocked on Ocasio’s door and found Ocasio matched the description given to them by the two witnesses. The officers asked Ocasio if he would speak with them. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Ocasio said he needed to put his shoes on and the responding officer said he needed to accompany him inside. The officer saw the stolen iPad on the floor. The iPad was seized and the Ocasio was subsequently taken into custody.