A Jefferson City man has been sentenced in connection with two separate burglary cases.
Byron Jones, 54, pleaded guilty during a Wednesday hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green to one count of first-degree burglary from 2017 and one count of second-degree burglary from 2018.
Jones will also have to pay a still to be determined amount of restitution as part of his probation.
The first burglary occurred in June 2017 at Joe Machens Ford on Southwest Boulevard, according to Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statements.
A cleaning worker called police, saying she had heard a loud noise in the service department and had seen an unknown man wearing dark clothing in the cashier's office.
Officers found a glass door had been broken and there were fresh drops of blood around the area of the door. They also found blood in the cashier's office. The cash drawer for the office had been pried open, and $200 in cash was missing.
The second burglary occurred in February 2018 at Blue Diamond Jewelry on Missouri Boulevard. A rock had been thrown through the front door to gain entry. A display case had been broken, and several wedding-style rings had been taken.
Store video indicated the suspect was a large man with a limp, wearing black pants and carrying some type of tool on his left hip.
A couple of days after the burglary, a man brought a wedding-style ring into a Jefferson City pawn shop to sell. An officer walked into the business on an unrelated investigation, and the man attempting to sell the ring left the shop immediately, which prompted the store clerk to tell the officer something seemed suspicious about the man. The man had a limp, like the man who had broken into Blue Diamond.
Authorities eventually determined Jones was the suspect. He was contacted while driving, and he was wearing similar clothing as seen in the video of the jewelry store burglary and was walking with a limp.
Jones agreed to be interviewed and after being shown the store video initially denied being involved in the crime.
Authorities searched his residence and found clothing that matched what burglary suspect had been wearing, and there were glass fragments in the clothing.
Investigators arrested Jones, finding he was in possession of the stolen rings in the basement of his apartment complex. A total of 78 rings, which were costume jewelry, were taken, with a value of $2,730.
During questioning, Jones admitted to breaking into the Joe Machens dealership and taking money. He said he didn't know anyone was in the business at the time.
He said he had committed both burglaries because he needed money.