Balicki

A lifelong criminal and serial burglar who wreaked havoc from Butler County to Ohio was sentenced Thursday in Butler County Court.

Thirty-year-old John T. Balicki will spend 12 to 24 years in state prison for his most recent burglary spree that victimized more than a dozen households in Butler, Beaver, Allegheny and Venango counties.

“Even that is not enough for him,” Monroeville Police Detective William Krut said of the lengthy punishment.

Balicki, whose criminal record includes nine previous burglary arrests, had been released from state prison in 2010, just months prior to the first allegation in this case.

Krut, who first arrested Balicki when the suspect was 16, pointed out Balicki’s acts of defiance continue to this day by refusing to identify the locations of some of the stolen property.

Krut told Butler County Judge William Shaffer that after Balicki was arrested this most recent time, investigators intercepted telephone calls that he made to his live-in girlfriend from the Allegheny County Jail. In those, Balicki reportedly told the woman where to find caches of stolen jewelry he’d hidden.

The woman, according to court documents, was told to retrieve the items and sell them. But police beat her to the goods and recovered them.

Krut told the judge that during the same conversations, Balicki talked about one larger, hidden pile of booty, but never identified its location. Investigators have since confronted Balicki about the stash, but Balicki continues to refuse to give it up, Krut said.

Krut also in the courtroom noted that the victims of these crimes, like Craig Bowland of Cranberry Township, are often robbed of the sense of security that people should feel inside their own homes.

Bowland, the only victim to speak during the hearing, said the incident continues to haunt his wife. He urged the judge to issue Balicki a lengthy sentence to protect the community.

“I don’t want to hear that he’s been put out (of prison) so that he can possibly come back to my house,” Bowland said.

A handful of Balicki’s other victims also attended the sentencing hearing. The list of names and insurance companies that Balicki must pay restitution to covered three typed pages and totalled $83,483.

Six other people also were charged in relation to different legs of this burglary spree, but Deputy Attorney General Michael Ahwesh, who prosecuted this case, identified Balicki as “the ringleader.”

Court records indicate the thefts from homes and cars took place during the day by way of unlocked windows or forced entry. The stolen goods included guns, jewelry, digital equipment, cash and vehicles.

At least four of the victimized households were in Cranberry Township on Old Farm Road, Buckingham Trail and Kilbuck Drive.

Balicki initially was arrested on the Pennsylvania Turnpike because he was wanted on a burglary warrant out of Ohio, according to court records. While in prison on the warrant, he allegedly made the telephone calls to his live-in girlfriend that police used to help unravel the case. Krut said investigators asked Balicki to help resolve the open cases and he refused, but other involved people cooperated.

While in court Thursday, Balicki apologized to his family and victims, saying he’s received drug and alcohol counseling and treatment for bipolar disorder while in prison awaiting resolution of this case.

“I know I need to make a serious change in my lifestyle ... I hope I’m worthy of compassion and I beg for your mercy,” Balicki said to the judge.

Balicki pleaded guilty to 60 charges in this case, including corrupt organizations and 13 counts of burglary. He still faces a pending case in Ohio and a parole violation hearing in Allegheny County which could equal more significant jail time.

His criminal record includes previous burglary convictions in Butler, Clearfield, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties dating back to 2000.

Although court records list a Monroevile address for Balicki, investigators in their report say he was living in Beaver County at the time of his arrest.