Man pleads guilty to home break-ins

A Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty to and was sentenced Monday on several counts of burglary.

In a plea deal, Maurice K. Garrett Jr., 18, pleaded guilty to four felony counts in exchange for all other charges being dropped.

Garrett had been charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree burglary, four counts of stealing, one count of second-degree robbery and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, all felonies; and two counts of misdemeanor receiving stolen property.

Garrett broke into four homes to steal property, court documents show. Two of the homes' owners were home at the time of the break-ins, elevating the offense to first-degree burglary.

Judge Benjamin Lewis sentenced Garrett to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on each of the four counts, to run concurrently.

Police arrested Garret after an investigation stemming from a vehicle stop in late April.

Officers suspected the vehicle and its occupants had been involved in several recent burglaries. Police found marijuana in the vehicle.

Garret was arrested and charged after an investigation.

The original incident, a robbery, occurred Dec. 31, Cape Girardeau Police Cpl. Darin Hickey said at the time. The thefts spanned about four months.

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