After fire ravaged a home in West Goshen Township on Jan. 3, the owners, who had to vacate the premises, got more bad news: While they were staying in a hotel, burglars stole heirloom jewelry, silver, bikes, and tools, police said.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, detectives from the West Goshen Township Police department arrested Stephen S. Gorewitz III, 26, and Kimberly R. Johnson, 23, who lived nearby. The pair, who were taken in to custody with the assistance of the Chester County Sheriff’s Department Warrant Unit, face charges that include burglary, receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activity.
West Goshen Police Capt. Gregory Stone credited investigators, including a West Whiteland Township Police detective, as well as a law that requires pawn shops to submit weekly lists to authorities, for the arrests. “This was good police work and good cooperation from another department,” he said.
Stone said that the West Whiteland Police Department contacted West Goshen on Wednesday, Feb. 11, after noticing an unusually large number of sales at American Gold and Estate Buyers Inc. in Exton by a West Goshen Township couple. The store had taken numerous pictures of the items and also obtained the driver’s license information for the sellers, who happened to live near the residence that had to be boarded up after the fire.
Police said the blaze caused sufficient damage to the house that it was deemed unsafe and a local restoration and cleaning company was contacted and secured it, boarding doors and nailing them shut. On Saturday, Feb. 7, officers returned to the residence after the owner’s children stopped to check on the home and discovered the burglary.
After receiving the information from West Whiteland, West Goshen detectives met with the homeowner and showed her photos of the items recovered at the store. She was able to identify them because numerous pieces had belonged to her mother and grandmother and were unique, police said.
Detectives attempted to speak with Johnson and Gorewitz but were initially unable to locate them. On Thursday, Feb. 19, members of the Sheriff’s Department and the West Goshen Police Department went to Johnson’s residence in the 1200 block of Delmar Avenue in West Goshen Township looking for Gorewitz, who had three bench warrants for his arrest in other cases.
As soon as they arrived, police said Gorewitz jumped out of a bedroom window and fled on foot. He was taken in to custody a short time later. Officers found him hiding inside the burnt residence on Arlington Avenue, police said.
Police said both Johnson and Gorewitz admitted stealing the items and selling them at the gold buyer. Both were arraigned and taken to Chester County Prison after failing to post bail - $15,000 for Johnson and $150,000 for Gorewitz.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26, court records said. Records show that Gorewitz has a criminal history dating back to 2010 that includes bail forfeitures, failure to appear, and parole violations. Pending cases include drug possession and flight to avoid apprehension. In 2012, Gorewitz was sentenced to 72 hours to six months in jail for driving under the influence of a controlled substance in East Marlborough Township; he also received prison time for a 2010 assault case in West Chester, records said.
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