Serial burglar charged in spate of Wichita business, office building break-ins pleads guilty
A serial burglar charged in a spate of office building and business break-ins that led Wichita police and property managers to warn tenants against keeping cash, gift cards and other valuables on site pleaded guilty to 23 felonies after his jury trial started this week, court records show.
A judge set a tentative sentencing date of Feb. 28 after Robert James Anderson III’s admission Tuesday ended a trial where prosecutors sought to try him on 69 charges for break-ins, mostly in late 2020 and early 2021. Anderson’s spree plagued the city and surrounding areas for weeks, leading to at least 30 police reports, court records show.
Wichita police announcing his March 12, 2021 arrest said over the months Anderson had gotten away with a variety of credit cards, gift cards, hundreds in cash, tools, a 55-inch TV, a computer and other electronics as well as personal information after prying open doors, desks and locks.
Police found a cache of the stolen goods tied to the burglarized properties at his Wichita home when he was caught, a department spokesman said at the time.
Anderson, 44, pleaded guilty to 18 counts of burglary and five counts of aggravated burglary, Sedgwick County District Court records show. Prosecutors dismissed dozens of other charges in exchange, according to his plea agreement. He’s facing prison time when he is sentenced.
