North Huntingdon man paroled for string of burglaries

A North Huntingdon man on Monday was ordered to serve up to two years in jail for burglaries at two businesses, including a car parts store where he worked.

Stephen Michael Wray, 41, was paroled after given credit for time he served since his arrest in July 2019 for break-ins at Spitz Auto in North Huntingdon and nearby pizza shop.

Wray, police said, broke into the auto parts store five times in June 2019 and twice in July, when he stole about $2,100 in cash and another $600 worth of tools. Police said Wray was seen in surveillance video and that he used his personal log-in code to access the store’s computer system in an attempt to cover his actions.

Police said Wray also broke into Mama Pepino’s Pizza in Irwin twice in late July 2019 and took nearly $400 from the cash register. Wray told police he stole the cash to ensure his family had enough money to buy groceries, according to court records.

Wray was arrested while working on the sales floor at the auto parts store.

He pleaded guilty in May to burglary and theft charges in five separate cases. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilk-DeFazio sentenced him to serve one to two years in jail and an additional year on probation. Wray was immediately paroled and ordered to complete drug and alcohol addiction treatment.

Wray, who attended the hearing remotely from the county jail, said the incidents were a result of a cocaine addiction relapse.

“All I did was disrespect my life and my family. It has been a horrible year. I did things a 20-year-old would do — not a 40-year-old,” Wray said. “They (the victims) were good people, and they didn’t deserve what I did.”