Man gets prison for jewelry theft
A Slippery Rock man was sentenced to state prison on Wednesday, after being charged with stealing jewelry in April.
Brandon J. Gurowski, 25, was sentenced to one to two years in a state correctional facility by county Judge William Shaffer. He was also ordered to serve 60 months state probation following his parole and was ordered to pay court costs and $721 in restitution.
Gurowski pleaded guilty Nov. 29 to felony theft. He was also initially charged with felony receiving stolen property, which was dismissed as part of the plea.
State police filed the charges after a report April 21 that $2,500 worth of jewelry, coins and other items were stolen from a home in Brady Township.
The victim, Kimberly McKinney, told police that four rings, a pearl necklace and another necklace were among the property that went missing at her house on Hallston Road. She suspected Gurowski.
According to court documents, McKinney told investigators that her daughter spoke to Gurowski by telephone and he admitted taking the property April 21 and selling it at an area jewelry store.
Police said they went to the store and recovered McKinney's jewelry, valued at $1,800.
Because Gurowski was arrested on this case, that triggered eight parole and probation violation cases pending from charges filed against him in 2013 and 2015. Shaffer ordered that those cases be closed.
The April charges come less than a year after he served a stint in the Butler County Prison for a rash of crimes, including burglary and theft, in 2014 and 2015. Among the crimes, court records showed, were the break-ins of a Butler church and a Franklin Township home in 2015 and a Brady Township home in 2014.
Other crimes in 2015 included property thefts at homes in Worth Township and Butler.
In those prior six cases, he pleaded guilty Nov. 24, 2015, to two counts of burglary, one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and three counts of theft.
Gurowski was released from the county prison Aug. 8, 2016, after serving an 18-month sentence, followed by four years on probation.
