Sentencing Set For Lunch Break Burglar

A mechanic accused of stealing more than $30,000 worth of loot from homes during his lunch breaks will be sentenced Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Andrew Tyler Olden, 24, pleaded guilty between April 20 and May 27, according to Montgomery County court records.

Olden, a mechanic for a Germantown car dealership, told police that he committed the burglaries during his lunch breaks and on his way home from work. Court records list home addresses for Olden in Myersville, Md., which is part of Frederick County, and in Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

“I did it because I was under the control of a powerful drug,” Olden said in a written apology addressed to the court. “I was abusing drugs and deep in my addiction (sic) I needed to feed this lifestyle with more money and drugs.”

Investigators believe the Montgomery County burglaries may have been part of a broader scheme.

Olden and his girlfriend were linked to 11 burglaries in Frederick County, the Frederick County Bureau of Investigation said in a statement in June. There were also theft and burglary charges filed against Olden in Howard County, Md.

In October, a Frederick County judge sentenced Olden to a total of 15 years with three years of probation on first degree burglary charges, according to court records accessed online.

On Jan. 17, a Howard County judge handed down a two-year sentence for first-degree burglary.

In Montgomery County, Olden was charged with eight counts of first-degree burglary, seven counts of theft between $1,000 and $10,000, and one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000.

In Maryland, first-degree burglary can carry a sentence of 20 years.