Serial burglar draws 5 decades in prison
NORRISTOWN >> Dubbed the “Serial Suburban Burglar,” a Philadelphia man faces more than five decades in prison after a judge imposed consecutive time behind bars for each of his 31 burglaries or attempted break-ins in Montgomery and Bucks counties.
“You stole their sense of security in addition to stealing multiple items,” Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein addressed Hiram Ramos as she ordered him to serve 58-to-116-years in prison in connection with his 2016 burglary spree that targeted residences in multiple townships in the two counties.
Referring to the expression “A man’s home is his castle,” Rothstein said people should feel safe in their homes.
“You destroyed that. You showed no remorse,” Rothstein addressed Ramos.
During a trial last year, a jury convicted Ramos, 34, of the 2000 block of North Bodine Street, of multiple charges of burglary, attempted burglary, criminal trespass, attempted criminal trespass and loitering and prowling at night in connection with 31 incidents.
The jury acquitted Ramos of eight additional counts of burglary.
The burglaries or attempted break-ins occurred in Cheltenham, Abington, Lower Merion and Lower Moreland townships in Montgomery County and in Falls Township in Bucks County, according to court documents.
Some of the burglaries occurred at homes along Mt. Pleasant and Manor roads and Lodges Lane in Lower Merion; along Huntingdon and Thorpe roads in Abington; along County Line Road in Lower Moreland; along Highland and Manor roads and Tulpehocken Avenue in Cheltenham; and along Simons and Walton drives in Falls Township,
Bucks County.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Frame sought consecutive sentences against Ramos to reflect each of the homeowners victimized by Ramos.
“The ‘Serial Suburban Burglar’ would go into homes in the summer of 2016 and literally take televisions off the walls, varied electronics and other things while some of the homeowners were asleep upstairs,” Frame alleged. “He would go in through windows, cut screens, or anything that was unlocked or opened and then take whatever he wanted to.”
One Lower Moreland homeowner said she awoke at 8 a.m. to discover her kitchen window had been pried open and a side door
standing open, according to court papers. A Cheltenham homeowner reported a window screen was cut out and removed and someone stole numerous items from his home while he slept on the second floor.
“These are crimes of violence that deserve to be taken as such. It’s judgment day for the ‘Serial Suburban Burglar,’” Frame argued.
Some victims were so traumatized by the invasions of their personal space that they have since moved from their homes, Frame said.
“It destroys their sense of security in their home. They will never feel the same way again when they go to sleep at night, shut off the light, not knowing if someone is downstairs,” Frame said.
Ramos, supported in court by his children and several relatives who tearfully pleaded for leniency on his behalf, apologized for
his conduct before learning his fate. Ramos acknowledged the homeowners worked hard for what they possessed and didn’t deserve to have it taken away.
“I apologize to my kids. I don’t know how to be a dad. I’m sorry,” said Ramos, tears welling in his eyes.
Defense lawyer Eric Scott Donato argued the sentence sought by prosecutors was “wildly inappropriate.”
“No one was injured. No one had contact with Mr. Ramos during these offenses. They were nonviolent in nature. What was taken was property,” Donato argued.
Donato argued Ramos had a dysfunctional childhood, grew up surrounded by “poverty, chaos, drugs and violence,” and was physically abused.
“He is the product of the environment he grew up in,” added Donato, asking the judge not to warehouse
Ramos in prison.
During the investigation, detectives learned that a silver Chrysler 300 was observed in the area of burglaries in Lower Merion on June 8, 2016, and in Abington on June 17, according to court papers.
Detectives subsequently tracked an electronic item stolen from an Abington residence on June 17 to an address in the 300 block of East Cornwall Street in Philadelphia. When detectives went there they observed a Chrysler 300 parked on the block and Ramos and another man, Julio Gonzales, working on the vehicle, according to the arrest affidavit. The vehicle eventually was linked to Ramos.
During a surveillance detail in the early morning hours of Aug. 2, detectives
observed Ramos arrive on East Cornwall Street in the Chrysler 300 and Gonzales, 33, who lived on East Cornwall Street, come outside to meet Ramos, court papers alleged. Gonzales then carried a television, computers and purses, which were unloaded from the vehicle, into his home, according to a criminal complaint.
When detectives later searched Gonzales’ home they found numerous items that had been reported stolen during overnight burglaries in the Elkins Park section of Cheltenham.
“This case was solved through an amazing and very, very hardworking investigation by the Cheltenham Police Department, in particular,” Frame said.
Gonzales subsequently told investigators that he had been buying items from Ramos for about three months, including five televisions that were found in his home, according to court papers.
“Gonzales stated he would resell items on various social media sites,” Cheltenham detectives alleged in an arrest affidavit.
Gonzales, who Frame characterized as “a fence,” previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to five years’ probation.
Gonzales cooperated with investigators and testified for prosecutors at Ramos’ trial.
Ramos also must pay nearly $16,000 in restitution to cover losses that were not covered by insurance. Some stolen items also were recovered during the investigation.