City man charged with stealing gun, safe with $3K in cash during armed burglary waives preliminary hearing
A Lancaster city man charged with breaking into a house while armed and stealing a gun and safe among other items, will have his case proceed to county court after waiving his preliminary hearing earlier this year.
Antonio Velazquez, of the first block of North Charlotte Street, waived his preliminary hearing before Judge Adam Witkonis on Oct. 28 on charges of burglary, theft by unlawful taking, possession of a firearm prohibited, firearms not to be carried without a license, criminal mischief, conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and possession of an instrument of crime with intent.
Velazquez, 52, is accused of forcibly breaking into the victim’s residence in the 300 block of West Mifflin Street in Lancaster city during the early morning hours of Oct. 11 and stealing a handgun, an airsoft gun and a safe containing $3,000 in cash as well as sensitive documents, among other items.
In total, Velazquez is accused of stealing around $3,500 in cash and other goods. Several documents belonging to the victim including a passport, green card and Social Security card were also stolen.
Surveillance footage from inside the residence purports to show Velazquez, armed with a handgun, and an unidentified co-conspirator breaking into the residence shortly after 1 a.m. and rummaging through drawers and taking several items. Velazquez is not permitted to possess a firearm.
Though Velazquez was masked in the video, Lancaster City Bureau of Police Det. James Boas, who filed the charges, recognized his voice and certain physical characteristics including a tattoo on his hand based on prior interactions.
Police investigating the scene discovered a broken window where Velazquez and his co-conspirator are believed to have entered the residence. The estimated cost to repair the window is about $500.
Velazquez remains in Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
