Crime & Safety

Vera Bradley Bag Burglar Arrested in Dumpster Pleads Guilty

A search of the man's home turned up items stolen in burglaries in Ellicott City.

A Baltimore man charged in a string of burglaries—after police found him hiding in a dumpster in Columbia—pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree burglary and one county of theft at Howard County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Cornelius Antonio McRae, 23, was arrested by police on Jan. 6, after they had identified him as a suspect in a string of Ellicott City burglaries in December of 2012. 

He was being watched by police at the time when they saw him emerge from a home in the 8600 block of Tamar Dr. carrying a pink Vera Bradley bag, a laptop computer and an iPad mini, according to assistant state's attorney Ned Curry.

Police attempted to approach McRae as he was entering a stolen Honda Pilot, but he fled, according to the prosecutor. Police eventually located him hiding in a dumpster in the 6500 block of Meadowridge Rd. and brought him into custody.

A search of McRae's Baltimore residence turned up laptops, credit cards, cash and other items that were linked to burglaries of Ellicott City homes in the 3700 and 3800 block of Groversnor Dr., according to Curry.

McRae is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 19. The prosecution is seeking a sentence of 15 years on the first-degree burglary charge and 10 years on the two theft charges, to be served simultaneously.


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