A serial burglar will spend up to 20 years in prison for four Lancaster County burglaries, in which he stole tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry and electronics.
David D. Vasquez broke into homes in Akron, Lititz, Manheim and Manheim Township in early 2011 and stole over $60,000 in valuables, including wedding rings and diamond jewelry.
He left behind crucial evidence at each home: blood droplets from injuries he apparently sustained breaking into windows.
Lancaster County Judge Howard Knisely recently sentenced Vasquez, now 24, to 4 to 20 years in state prison.
As part of sentence, Vasquez was ordered to pay the victims what they lost in the burglaries.
Assistant District Attorney Trista Boyd, lead prosecutor, told Judge Knisely the victims lost valuables, but more importantly, their sense of security and safety in their own homes. Even five years later, Boyd told the judge, the crimes weigh on the minds of the victims.
Following the February and March 2011 crimes, police found blood at all four homes. In the Lititz case, blood drops were found on a wedding invitation. The intruder had stolen wedding rings from that home.
The blood was sent to a lab for DNA analysis. Eventually, it matched DNA collected from a crime scene in Canton, Ga. The DNA was traced to Vasquez, who had lived in Georgia before moving to South Queen Street in Lancaster.
Vasquez pleaded guilty in February to the Lancaster County crimes.
Police from Akron (Sergeant Dale Putt), Lititz (Detective John Schofield), Manheim (Sergeant Aaron Szulborski), and Manheim Township (Detective Brian Freysz) filed charges.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright