CLEARFIELD – A homeless man accused of burglarizing a DuBois building and leaving the water on, causing thousands of dollars in damage, pleaded guilty during colloquy court Tuesday.
Justin M. Powers, 39, was sentenced to a total of 36 months to six years in state prison for burglary, criminal mischief and theft in one case, retail theft in a second, receiving stolen property in a third case and driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia in a fourth case.
He was ordered to pay $5,825 in restitution in the first case and over $395 in the other cases.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the burglary case, the owner reported to police on Nov. 4 that someone had stolen tools from his building on East Long Avenue.
The burglar also turned on a water valve inside the building, causing approximately $10,000 in water damage, he said.
The victim was able to provide surveillance photos and a complete description of the suspect to police. One of the officers recognized Powers, who was wearing the same clothes when he saw him on Nov. 3.
In the video, Powers can reportedly be seen entering the building through an unlocked door and carrying a blue bucket with tools in it as he leaves the structure.
Police later located Powers at a residence where they were able to speak with him.
When asked if he stole tools from the building, he denied it. But after he was shown the photos, he agreed to cooperate and admitted it was him in the pictures, police said.
In an interview with investigators, he reportedly explained that he put the tools in a suitcase and threw them into a yard on East Weber Avenue where police were able to recover it.
