Police say a Cheswick man admitted to breaking into a neighbor’s house to steal her jewelry so he could sell it to support his drug habit.

Eric Robert Desabetino, 44, of the 200 block of South Highland Avenue was charged by Allegheny Valley Regional Police with felony counts of burglary, theft and receiving stolen property along with two drug-related charges.

He was released on a nonmonetary bond and ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing before District Judge David Sosovicka on April 24.

Police say a South Highland Avenue woman reported March 6 that multiple pieces of gold jewelry were missing from her home along with a cordless drill that was taken from the basement.

After the theft was reported, the Allegheny Valley Regional chief spotted Desabetino walking near the woman’s house and questioned him because he was involved in similar criminal activity in the past, according to a complaint. He was not taken into custody at that time.

Investigators learned that Desabetino gave a clerk his identification when he allegedly sold several pieces of gold jewelry at the Treasure Hunt store in The Waterworks shopping mall near Aspinwall, the complaint said.

The woman was able to identify her missing jewelry from photos, said police, who got a search warrant for Desabetino’s home.

Officers searched Desabetino outside his house and confiscated a plastic box with several stamp bags of heroin and needles in it along with several stamp bags that he had in a jacket pocket, the complaint said.

While searching the house, Desabetino admitted to police that he stole his neighbor’s jewelry and sold it to buy drugs, according to the complaint.

Police said they found the missing cordless drill on a bedroom floor in his house.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)