Groton — An Uncasville man is believed to be involved in a dozen burglaries that were reported this year throughout the region, court records show.

Groton Town police on Tuesday charged Wayne R. Malinowsky Jr., 29, of 239 Fitch Hill Road with first-degree burglary, five counts of third-degree burglary, three counts of third-degree larceny, two counts of fourth-degree larceny, fifth-degree larceny and sixth-degree larceny.   

Police believe he burglarized homes in Mystic, Groton, Stonington, Waterford, Norwich and Bozrah.

Detective Robert Emery said in a warrant that town police started to investigate a string of burglaries in the spring in Mystic.

Many of the burglaries were committed in the same fashion: There were no signs of forced entry; jewelry, electronics, tools and loose change were taken; and the homes were not ransacked or overtly disturbed.

"This subtlety did not immediately alert the victims that anything had been stolen from their home," the warrant said.

Police believed that, because the burglaries were similar, the same suspect or suspects had to be involved.

The warrant said that on July 9 Stonington police arrested Barbara Kuhn for a residential burglary in that town. Groton Town police wanted to talk to her in connection with burglaries that were happening there.

Police said they ran a property search on the New England State Police Information Network for pawn sales that Kuhn was involved in, and they discovered that from February through July, she made 34 pawn transactions.

They also discovered that Malinowsky had accompanied her on many of those transactions, the warrant said.

Malinowsky also sold numerous jewelry pieces to various pawn shops in the region.

Kuhn denied having any involvement in the burglaries. She told police she was addicted to pain killers and had used heroin, the warrant said.

The following month Kuhn and Malinowsky were arrested after an extensive police and K-9 search of the Noank area when a homeowner reported someone had entered her home on High Street.

The woman said that, about 3:30 a.m., she woke up when she heard her front door squeaking repeatedly back and forth, according to Groton Town police.

The homeowner said she saw a bright light from a flashlight or cell phone moving from left to right along the front entrance wall. She said she heard the door slam shut and she yelled for her husband.

In connection with that incident, Malinowsky was charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny.

According to the warrant, Norwich police wanted to interview Malinowsky in connection with thefts in the city.

He admitted to Norwich police that he participated in numerous burglaries in Norwich and Bozrah, including breaking in to the home of a Norwich police officer.

Malinowsky agreed to show police officers the houses he burglarized in Norwich. Police said he admitted to robbing two houses on North Wawecus Hill Road and two on Rogers Road.

Malinowsky told police he is addicted to heroin, the warrant said.

On Aug. 17, Kuhn agreed to show police the houses that she and Malinowsky burglarized. Police said Kuhn identified 10 houses in Mystic, Groton and Waterford.

On Aug. 23, Malinowsky had a non-contact visit from his mother and sister while incarcerated. Non-contact visits are recorded. In those conversations, he admitted to burglarizing homes with Kuhn.

"He also told his sister that one place in particular they went back to repeatedly," the warrant said. "He says they took close to 20K. He says it's a cool story that he'll have to tell her sometime."

Malinowsky is being held on bond. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 11.

i.larraneta@theday.com

Twitter: @larraneta