Wilt pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Dec. 14, 2004, burglary of three guns and a two-foot Coca-Cola replica containing about $1,000 from a home in the 12800 block of St. Paul Road in Clear Spring. He also pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Dec. 17 burglary of wrapped Christmas presents - including a PlayStation 2 and a video game - a Boyds Bears Christmas ornament and a bottle of Vodka from a home in the 13700 block of Hollow Road in Hancock.
In each burglary, Veil said, Wilt and his alleged accomplices would "drive around and look for homes where no cars were parked" and would then knock on the door and break it down if no one answered. He said that if someone answered the door, Wilt and his alleged accomplices, who used walkie-talkies to communicate, would ask them for directions.
Wilt, when given a chance to speak, called his actions "stupid."
"In the back of my mind, I knew it was wrong while I was doing it," he said.
Veil said that the guns reported stolen in the burglary were not recovered.
Before pronouncing sentence, McDowell said that although sentencing guidelines in Wilt's case recommended a sentence of between three months and four years, he felt the crimes were more serious.
"We've got a big problem here," he said. "We've got at least three handguns ... and now they're out in the public to be used for other crimes."
He also said, "This is a very devious way" to burglarize homes.
McDowell ordered that Wilt pay restitution to the victims within no more than two years and six months of his release. He ordered that the payment of restitution be shared with his co-defendants.
