Local man ordered to pay restitution for Hallowell, Farmingdale burglary spree

AUGUSTA — A local man who burglarized multiple Hallowell and Farmingdale businesses last May — taking, among other things, an antique gramophone and $5,000 in antique coins — was sentenced to the nearly 300 days in jail he’s already served and ordered to make restitution to his victims and take part in a court-overseen treatment program.

Jedediah Wasilewski, 45, of Hallowell, apologized to one of his victims in court Tuesday, and promised he’d pay her the money he owed her. He had little memory of his criminal acts, he said.

“I’d like to apologize, not to make excuses, but I wasn’t well, and the behavior was appalling,” an emotional Wasilewski said at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta after pleading guilty to numerous counts of theft, burglary and criminal mischief. “I’m sorry, I’d like to think I could conduct myself better. I wasn’t raised like that. I have no idea what I was thinking, if I did at all. And I’m just very, very sorry that all this happened.”

Randy Knee, an owner of Hallowell Antique Mall, said Wasilewski stole $5,000 worth of antique coins from the shop, only a handful of which were recovered. She said she was interested in learning what may have happened to the rest of the coins, as she heard they may have been buried somewhere.

“All we got from the police department was a little handful; there was $5,000 worth of coins there,” Knee said.

Wasilewski said he had no recollection of what was going on the nights of the thefts, and said it seemed he’d dropped many of the coins out of his backpack. Police reported finding coins at other break-in sites. He again apologized to Knee. She thanked Wasilewski for his apology, and said she wished him well.

Part of Wasilewski’s sentence orders him to pay several thousand dollars in restitution to his victims. Justice Deborah Cashman said the intent is for Wasilewski to pay restitution to victims for the value of what he took, minus any funds that were paid to them through their insurance companies.

Items taken included an antique gramophone, or record player, which Wasilewski apparently destroyed after taking it. Parts of the gramophone were found at another burglary scene, said prosecutor Christy Stilphen, an assistant district attorney.

Stilphen said the owner of a Hallowell shop came into his business the morning of May 8, 2023, and saw a broken window and a distinctive black cowboy hat with an eagle hanging off its front, which local police recognized as a hat they had seen Wasilewski wearing, as well as a Jack Daniels whiskey bottle. The owner reported 10 antique jackets were taken.

The next day, a Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputy found Wasilewski wearing one of the jackets and in possession of other items reported stolen.

The Hi-Hat Drive In restaurant, Elite Body Essentials, and Elliott Office Products were also hit by Wasilewski, where he stole cash from registers, damaged property, and consumed food and wine.

At the time of the break-ins Wasilewski was on probation following his 2015 conviction on robbery charges in Richmond.

He was initially sentenced to four years imprisonment, with all but the time he’s already served in jail, just under 300 days, suspended, and two years probation.

However a final sentencing still awaits. As part of a negotiated agreement, Wasilewski must successfully take part in the Co-Occurring Disorders Court program. The program, Cashman warned, is difficult to complete and requires participants to take part in closely monitored treatment programs, with testing for substance use and regular check-ins with program officials required.

If he successfully meets the requirements of the program, which take a minimum of 13 months but often longer to complete, many of the charges against him would be dismissed, and he would serve no further time behind bars.

If Wasilewski fails in meeting the requirements of the program, he could be facing an open sentence on the charges he pleaded guilty to, which Cashman warned could result in a prison sentence, in part because of his probation violations, of up to nine or 10 years.

Wasilewski, represented by attorney John O’Donnell, expressed appreciation for what he called the opportunity to take part in the program.

“I need it, I appreciate it,” he said. “I don’t foresee myself having a problem with any of this. I do well with programming, with rules. I feel the opportunity I have is very gracious and I’m grateful for it. You guys didn’t have to accept me, I have a pretty bad record, I’m thankful for the help.”