Burglar charges cellphone during break-in, Port St. Lucie police say

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — A burglar took time out to charge his cellphone during a break-in at a medical facility in Port St. Lucie.

Police arrested 56-year-old James Matthew Weltsek on charges of burglary, larceny, and criminal mischief on Thursday.

The investigation began on Feb. 22 when officers responded to a business burglary alarm at Convey Health Solutions/Liberty Medical on US Highway 1.

According to police, just after midnight someone broke in and stole snacks from the employee breakroom.

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Police checked the surveillance video and it showed a bald man in dark shorts, a red shirt, dark jacket and white tennis shoes entering the business through a fence along the rear patio.

Police said the man opened the gate to the patio by reaching his hand through the bars.

Once on the patio, police said the man put a pair of boxer shorts on a chair and then used one of the electrical outlets to charge his cellphone.

Seconds later, police said the man "aggressively" pulled on the door of the breakroom, which had a magnetic lock on it, until it opened.

Once inside, police said the man helped himself to snacks before leaving the area.

Police said the same man came back a second time at 1:47 a.m. As police gathered in the front of the complex, the man went through the patio door again, opened the magnetically-locked door, grabbed more snacks and left. In addition to the police out front, a security guard was inside the building at the time, unaware of the earlier burglary.

Police said the suspect caused about $280 worth of damage to the breakroom kiosk and stole about $5 in cash.

A few weeks later, on April 4, about 15 minutes before midnight, police said a security guard saw a bald man sneak through the rear patio gate and force his way into the employee breakroom. The security guard called 911 but the burglar disappeared by the time officers arrived.

Investigators checked the surveillance video again. The guy in the video matched the burglar in the earlier incidents.

The next day, police shared a flyer of the burglar with people in the community, asking folks if they recognized the guy.

A group of patrons at a gas station on US 1 told police the guy's name is "Jimmy," and that he drives around in a golf cart and lives with his mother in a retirement community nearby.

Police followed up on the tip and through court records, learned James "Jimmy" Weltsek had an extensive history of arrests in New York and Florida. In New York, Weltsek had arrests for larceny, theft, criminal tampering, burglary, assault, robbery and possession of stolen property, among other charges.

His criminal record in Florida, according to police, included arrests for stalking, trespassing, criminal mischief, battery, and multiple charges for the possession of narcotics. Police said Weltsek also had numerous pawn shop transactions for tools, jewelry, and coins.

Police are looking into whether Weltsek is tied to any area burglaries.