A West Haven man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday for stealing purses out of cars while people visited graves at the Mount St. Peter’s Cemetery on New Haven Avenue in Derby.
Daniel Fernandez, 35, pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny under the Alford Doctrine, in which a person does not admit guilt, but concedes the court has enough evidence to convict him or her.
According to Fernandez’s arrest warrant, Derby Police were investigating several reports of stolen items out of vehicles in that cemetery.
In February, the cemetery manager called police when he was a man looking into empty cars. Police arrived and found Fernandez, who said he was visiting a grave of a friend. But when police asked him to show them the tombstone, Fernandez was unable to verify his story, the warrant said.
At the time, Fernandez was on probation for separate burglary charges out of Southbury.
According to the warrant, Fernandez told police, “I was upset about my debt. I went to the cemetery in Derby as I had a lot to think about.”
He admitted to taking a purse out of a woman’s Jeep in December, one of the previous complaints of theft.
Judge Karen Sequino said the sentence will be served at the same time as his other sentences for previous burglary and narcotics offenses.
