A Palm Harbor man who burglarized a jewelry store and stole merchandise worth $70,000 pleaded guilty to the charges Thursday and was sentenced to a year in jail.
Demetre Sakelson, 47, of 2238 Lark Circle West, returned roughly $50,000 of the jewelry to the store's owner but the remainder is still missing, said Assistant State Attorney Chris Jensen.
Sakelson is to serve 30 months of probation after his release. He was ordered to undergo treatment for drug use.
Sakelson forced open the door of Custom Jewelry Creations, 9239 U.S. 19, late on Nov. 2 and stole diamond wedding bands and several loose diamonds. The store owner, who has known Sakelson for 30 years, identified him as the perpetrator after viewing a surveillance video.
The owner told investigators he had just fired Sakelson.
Todd Leskanic
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement
Advertisement