Thefts lead to prison sentence
A prison sentence was handed down Thursday in Butler County Court to a man who previously pleaded guilty in seven theft cases against him.
James L. Musser III, 36, was sentenced to 18 to 48 months in prison, which can be served in the Butler County Prison, with immediate parole after completion of the six-month reintegration program.
He was also ordered to pay $350 in fines and nearly $10,000 in restitution by Judge Timothy McCune.
Musser pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to charges of felony burglary, criminal trespass, theft, misdemeanor retail theft, receiving stolen property and two counts of theft from a motor vehicle.
The first case involved a misdemeanor charge of theft from a motor vehicle after an incident on Sept. 11, 2016, when authorities say he stole $25 in change, cigarettes and a cell phone from a pizza delivery man's car on North Main Street.
The second case involved a misdemeanor charge of theft from a motor vehicle, after police said he stole a medical bag, containing an oxygen tank, intubation kit and other medic supplies — valued at $3,500 — from a Butler Ambulance Services ambulance in the 200 block of West North Street on Sept. 19, 2016.
Security cameras on the ambulance captured the crime on video, according to court documents, which showed a man opening the rear door and stealing the bag. Musser was later found and confessed to the crime, police said.
The retail theft charge stems from an incident on Sept. 26, 2016, when he was accused of stealing a candy bar from the A-plus store in Butler.
In the fourth case, the misdemeanor receiving stolen property charge is in relation to an incident on Oct. 20, 2016. Authorities say he stole jewelry from a home in the 500 block of Bredin Street and later sold the items for $125. Some of the items were later recovered, however, many were scrapped before police completed their investigation.
The felony trespass charge stems from an incident on Oct. 22, 2016, where authorities say he entered the rear door of an apartment in the 800 block of East Jefferson Street, where a resident was watching TV.
The man told police that he noticed the unknown burglar in his home before he ran out, and later identified Musser from a police photo lineup.
The felony theft charge stems from an incident on Nov. 1, 2016, at the Butler Beauty School on South Main Street, where police said Musser stole a student's purse that was in a second-floor office, according to court documents, which contained $5,000 in cash, a cell phone and other items.
The burglary charge came after an incident on Nov. 4, 2016, where authorities say he entered a property on West Penn Street and made off with $7,000 worth of jewelry and other property.
One of the occupants found the burglar in her home. The unknown man, later identified as Musser, ran out the back door. Musser was later arrested walking down the street, and in his pocket was three syringes, a crack pipe and other drug contraband, police said.
He was also carrying a duffel bag containing some of the stolen loot, police said.
Following arraignment on many of the cases, he was held in the Butler County Prison on a combined $202,800 bail.
Musser spoke during the proceedings, saying, “I want to apologize to any of my victims in the wake of my troubles and I want to apologize to my family for any embarrassment I've caused.”
