Pleasanton Man Sentenced to 8 Months in Jail for Office Burglaries

By Bay City News—

A Pleasanton man who stole iPhones and iPads from many San Mateo County businesses in a string of burglaries earlier this year was sentenced in San Mateo County Superior Court this morning.

Nicholas Simat, 26, pleaded no contest to four felony counts of commercial burglary in May after he was arrested in February.

[Related: Pleasanton Man Pleads No Contest to iPhone and iPad Thefts]
           
Simat was connected to a string of burglaries in South San Francisco, Burlingame and Daly City.

In the burglaries a man entered the businesses and talked to employees introducing himself as "Mike" or "Michael," according to prosecutors.

Apparently he would talk to employees in the front of the office of various dental offices, furniture stores, car repair shops and other businesses, prosecutors said.

He would loiter in the front area or chat about a range of topics and when the employees were distracted he would pilfer the electronic items, according to prosecutors.

He was eventually tracked down to a friend's home in Pinole and he allegedly admitted to the thefts.

Police were able to identify Simat after distributing images of the suspect from surveillance footage obtained at the various businesses.

As part of his sentencing he will serve eight months in county jail and three years probation. He was ordered to pay $54,000 in restitution to the victims.

His jail time can be served in a drug treatment program, according to the district attorney's office.

According to prosecutors, Simat said he was addicted to heroin and OxyContin and stole the items to pay for his drug habit.

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