Keedysville man accused of stealing jewelry - Herald-Mail Media
A Keedysville man has been charged with three counts of first-degree burglary after he allegedly took several pieces of jewelry from a home over the course of the last three months.
Jason Lee Laspe, 35, of Hardwood Lane also is charged with several counts of theft.
On Friday, Senior Judge W. Milnor Roberts reduced Laspe's bond to $15,000 from $35,000 during a hearing in Washington County District Court.
A conviction on a single charge of first-degree burglary carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Laspe was being held at the Washington County Detention Center.
According to court documents, the Washington County Sheriff's Office was called to a home on Christmas Eve night for a report of a theft from a home on Mountain Laurel Road near Boonsboro.
When deputies arrived, the victims said multiple pieces of jewelry had been stolen from the residence.
Items reported missing included earrings and diamond rings.
Court documents show the total value was estimated at $71,000.
As the case progressed, a detective remembered from a previous investigation that Laspe was dating the babysitter of one of the victims. Detectives then ran his name through a database to determine whether he recently sold anything at local pawn shops.
The results showed Laspe sold numerous pieces of jewelry at multiple pawn shops in Hagerstown and Frederick County, Md.
The documents said one of the victims agreed to meet an investigator on Tuesday to look at some of the jewelry at two pawn shops. She identified all of the jewelry that Laspe pawned as hers.
On Wednesday, detectives questioned Laspe at his home in Keedysville. He allegedly told investigators that the jewelry he pawned belonged to his late mother.
When detectives said the jewelry was not his, Lapse claimed he found the jewelry lying around his house and pawned it to pay bills, the documents said. Laspe then blamed the thefts on his girlfriend after detectives said he was going to jail.
On Thursday, Lapse and his girlfriend arrived at the sheriff's office for further interviews.
The girlfriend told detectives that she wouldn't steal from the victim because she enjoyed working for her.
Laspe later admitted that he entered the home on several occasions when his girlfriend was babysitting and left with the children. It was during those times, the documents said, that he stole the jewelry.
