Peabody man sentenced to three years for stealing car

SALEM – A Peabody man who admitted stealing a 56-year-old woman’s car in the downtown area last fall received three years in state prison.Todd Ciepiela, 34, last known address of 30 King St., Peabody, changed his plea of innocent to guilty to a charge of unarmed robbery Thursday afternoon in Salem Superior Court before Judge Timothy Q. Feeley.The charge arises out of an incident that occurred approximately at 8 a.m. on Sept. 26 when Peabody police responded to the 7-Eleven Store located at 79 Lowell St. on a report of a robbery.The then 56-year-old Peabody woman told police she went to the convenience store that morning and as she began to exit her 2007 light blue Toyota Camry, a man approached her and demanded the keys to her car.He reached in and grabbed her, forcibly removing her from the vehicle and throwing her to the ground before jumping into the car and speeding away west down Lowell Street.The victim did not sustain any serious injuries as a result of the incident, but was shaken up emotionally.Ciepiela was arrested four days later in Revere at the Beachmont Street station where he turned himself in to police who were waiting for him at the station.Police earlier that day noticed a blue Camry in the area of Bellingham Avenue in Revere and the driver acting suspiciously.After running the plate, officers discovered the vehicle had been stolen out of Peabody.When Ciepiela came out of a home with a woman, a deputy approached him, but he jumped into the stolen car and sped away. Police chased him, but they lost sight of him as he drove into the Chelsea area.The female provided police with his cell phone number which officers called. Ciepiela told them that he had driven the car to the North End section of Boston and abandoned it on Commercial Street.Officers managed to convince Ciepiela to take a bus to the Beachmont Street station in Revere to turn himself in. Authorities were waiting for him when he arrived and arrested him.Assistant District Attorney Michael Patten asked for a four- to five-year punishment based on the nature and circumstances of the case.The victim was present in the courtroom, but chose not to allocute before the court. The judge read a letter from her describing her emotional ordeal and the impact left on her, which is not for public viewing.Defense lawyer Michael P. Hickey proposed the three-year state prison term, reminding the judge that his client had no violence of this degree on his record and that he was struggling with drug use at the time.Ciepiela apologized in court for his actions to the victim and court.The judge credited Ciepiela the 221 days he spent in jail on bail awaiting trial.Feeley dismissed a second charge of carjacking against Ciepiela because he thought it was a duplicative charge to the unarmed robbery.