Mentor Man Admits To Burglarizing His Neighbors

A Mentor man pleaded guilty to a pair of burglary charges Tuesday afternoon in Lake County Court of Common Pleas.

Austin Marrie, 20, admitted to breaking into and stealing from a pair of homes on Kingston Court earlier this year.

Marrie told Judge Joseph Gibson that he used the money he got from stealing to fund his drug addiction.

"Those houses are condos next to mine. I went in them and took (items) to help my drug addiction," Marrie said, according to The News-Herald.

Gibson is scheduled to sentence Marrie on Sept. 12. He could receive any punishment from probation to six years in prison.

When Mentor police initially , he fled from the officers -- even shedding his clothes to try to throw them off his trail.

It worked and Marrie remained on the lam for about a month before he was ultimately arrested.

Marrie was also convicted of petty theft and attempted forgery last year, according to Mentor Municipal Court records.