A Scranton man accused of stealing $120,000 in March from his former employer to support his drug habit waived his preliminary hearing on Monday.
City police charged Stanley Eskra, 38, earlier this month with the March 24 burglary at the Ben Weitsman scrap yard at 1500 N. Keyser Ave.
Mr. Eskra climbed up to a second-floor window using a ladder and broke in early that morning, police said. As a former employee of the scrap yard, Mr. Eskra knew where to find the ladder.
He also knew where to find the security camera's digital video recorder, police said, which he ripped out and threw from the window. And he also knew that on a Saturday morning there would be a significant amount of cash on hand to cover the weekend's business. He even knew exactly where to find the chisel he used to pry open the safe where the $120,000 was locked away, police said.
After establishing him as a suspect, city police Detectives Michael Schultz and James Pappas interviewed Mr. Eskra in September, at which point he was already jailed at Lackawanna County Prison on a criminal trespassing charge.
During the interview, Mr. Eskra confessed to the burglary, police said. He told detectives that he was addicted to cocaine and heroin.
For the March burglary, Mr. Eskra was charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.
Arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 7. He remains at Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of a combined $20,000 bail.
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