Lynn housebreak bandit gets 3 years in prison

SALEM – A Lynn man who admitted burglarizing a home on Robinson Street a year ago and stealing about $300 in baseball cards will spend three years in state prison.Michael C. Kelley, 29, of 16A Clinton St., pleaded guilty Friday in Salem Superior Court to charges of breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony and larceny over $250 before Judge Howard J. Whitehead.The judge followed the agreed sentence proposed by Assistant District Attorney Christina P. Ronan and defense lawyer John P. Morris.Ronan stated the facts of the case arise out of an incident in Lynn on July 31 when the male homeowner of 34 Robinson St. came home around 9 p.m. and found the suspect in his kitchen. When the homeowner asked what he was doing there, Kelley stated he was looking for a woman and then started to jet out of the home as the homeowner began calling police.The homeowner chased the intruder on foot as police quickly surrounded the area.Police officers Gary Haggerty and Chris Hazard arrested Kelley nearby.Investigators discovered the baseball cards in his pocket which were later identified as the homeowner’s, who said they were valued at approximately $300, Ronan said.The male homeowner also identified Kelley in a police lineup as the intruder into his home.Entrance to the home had been gained through a window, police said.The sentence imposed will run together with a prison term Kelley is serving out of Suffolk County on similar charges.Ronan told Whitehead the sentence agreement reached was in conjunction with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.Kelley was indicted by an Essex County grand jury last August and has been held in custody since his arrest.