A Cape Coral man was arrested and charged Thursday for stealing nearly $8,000 in jewelry from the home of someone he knew, according to reports.
Donald R. Depasquale, 34, of 612 S.E. First Ave., was charged with one count of larceny theft $300 or more but less than $5,000, one count of fraud false owner information pawned items $300 or more, two counts of fraud false owner information pawned items less than $300 and three counts of dealing in stolen property.
According to booking records, Depasquale was being held Friday at the Lee County Jail. He was denied bond due to two, prior felony charges of selling cocaine that stem back to an April arrest. His earliest court date is Oct. 11.
According to reports, a woman filed a burglary report with the Cape police Wednesday. She reported that someone had entered her home and opened a jewelry chest box storage unit. Inside the unit, the person removed a plastic bag that contained various pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $7,950.
The missing items were a charm letter, a yellow gold bracelet, a tennis bracelet, a ruby and diamond ring, a men’s ring, a V-shaped diamond ring, a men’s initial ring, a solitaire diamond ring, a one-carat engagement ring and a sapphire wrap-around ring, the reports state.
After giving a report to the police, the victim went out to local pawn shops and cash for gold locations and inquired about her missing jewelry. While at a business on Del Prado Boulevard South, the woman was told to have police contact them regarding the information they had, according to the reports.
On Thursday, the victim reported her findings to the police. The Cape police then collected three, separate original invoices listing jewelry that had been sold to them by Depasquale. On all three invoices several items matched the jewelry reported stolen by the victim, the reports state.
Depasquale was located and questioned about the stolen items. He allegedly told police that he took the jewelry and pawned it to pay bills because he gave the victim money to cover a bill, but she did not pay it and the bill got higher.
Depasquale was taken into custody and transferred to the jail.
The victim refused to comment on the incident Friday.