Instead of a jury trial, Michael Breeden chose to enter into a plea deal Thursday with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office on charges related to stealing copper pipes and wiring from an Amissville home.
According to a plea agreement, Breeden pleaded guilty to conspiracy to break and enter. The other charge brought against him — breaking and entering — was not prosecuted by Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff at this time.
Breeden will serve one year and eight months in jail with no time suspended, according to the agreement.
According to court records, Breeden and Robert Hill, who has a plea hearing scheduled in September, entered the home of Joshua Cordy, which was boarded up pending repairs after a fire in January 2022.
When checking on his property in March 2022, Cordy said he discovered that plywood boards had been removed and the basement entryway was open. Cordy entered the basement, and, according to court records, found cigarette butts and missing copper wiring and pipes.
Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office deputies collected the cigarettes and sent them off for DNA analysis, the records said, which came back as a match to Breeden and Hill.
In interrogation, Breeden “denied having been in Amissville since 2015 and denied knowing Hill,” according to the stipulation of facts outlining the events. Hill initially denied involvement, but when “confronted with the DNA certification of analysis,” admitted his guilt, according to the stipulation of facts.
Hill told investigators that he and Breeden entered the home between midnight and 2 a.m. to remove the pipes and wiring with the intent to sell it, using the money to buy drugs, according to court documents.
Ireland Hayes is a reporter for Foothills Forum, a nonprofit organization that supports local news in Rappahannock County.
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