Montpelier man admits jewelry theft | Local News - Barre Montpelier Times Argus
BARRE – A Montpelier man has been placed on probation for stealing jewelry from a home he had been working on.
Donald S. Lowe, 35, pleaded guilty Monday in Washington County criminal court in Barre to a felony count of possession of stolen property. Lowe was sentenced to one to three years, all suspended and placed on probation for three years. He will also complete 60 days of work crew.
The state agreed to drop a felony count of grand larceny, per the plea agreement.
Sgt. Kevin Moulton, of the Montpelier police, said in his affidavit in November a resident reported someone had broken into her home and stole several pieces of jewelry. The victim gave police a sworn statement saying the items included rings, an antique pocket watch and pocket knife.
Moulton said on later that month Berlin police notified him about potentially stolen jewelry that had been sold to Wonder Cards & Comics. The victim, Moulton said, had first gone to Katie’s Jewels in Montpelier and showed sketches of the stolen jewelry to an employee who then contacted Wonder Cards & Comics. The victim then went to that store and discovered some of her jewelry had been sold there, according to court records.
Moulton said an investigation showed Lowe had sold the jewelry to the store in Berlin. A sales receipt showed Lowe had sold four gold rings to the store on Oct. 24 for $705.
The store’s owner retrieved the four rings he had bought from Lowe, and Moulton said all of them belonged to the victim, including a 1-carat diamond ring valued at $7,500.
Moulton said the victim knew Lowe because she had hired him to work on her house. She told police Lowe had been working on the interiors of her home for the past six months. Lowe had been tasked with putting a deadbolt on a bedroom door, the same bedroom Moulton said where the jewelry had been stolen from.
