Anthony J. Ames, 37, turned himself in to police in late January and admitted that earlier that month he had stolen three handguns from an East Lyme man and traded them for heroin.     

Ames said a New London drug dealer met him in the parking lot of the Dunkin Donuts in Niantic and gave him $400 to $500 worth of heroin for the guns.

Ames told police he used the heroin over the next few weeks with his girlfriend, 26-year-old Brittany L. Minor. 

Ames and Minor, who police say were homeless and addicted to heroin, also are accused of stealing jewelry valued at $1,000 on Jan. 18 from a Waterford woman who took them in on a cold night because they were sleeping in a tent.

"I just want to say I'm not a bad person, but I do things to support my addiction," Ames told the investigating officer, David C. Favalora of the East Lyme Police Department. "I am sorry for what I did."

A convicted felon with a lengthy criminal record that includes narcotics, larceny and criminal trespass charges, Ames is undergoing rehabilitation at the Lebanon Pines treatment program in Lebanon, according to court records.

He is charged with stealing a firearm and fourth-degree larceny in the East Lyme case and faces a charge of fourth-degree larceny for the alleged jewelry theft in Waterford.

He is due back in New London Superior Court on March 30.

Minor, who has no criminal record, told Favalora during a Jan. 28 phone call that she was not involved with taking the guns.

She said she was checking into Manchester Hospital for rehabilitation and would provide a statement upon her release.

Ames allegedly stole the guns from 67-year-old James Wasniewski, who said he is a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization.

Wasniewski said during a recent phone interview that his personal cause is to help out homeless and addicted people.

The thefts will not deter him from continuing his ministry of helping people as much as he can, Wasniewski said.

"The guns, they've probably already been sold to somebody, and they'll probably end up in some gang member's hand and the gang member may kill someone with the guns," he said. "There's nothing I can do about that."

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Ames and Minor were staying in a basement apartment at Wasniewski's home on Bayview Avenue.

Wasniewski told police he was cleaning items from his basement garage on Jan. 11 when Ames approached him at his gun locker and checked the lock.

Wasniewski, who has a pistol permit, said he told Ames to remove his hands from the lock and that the contents of the locker were none of his concern.

On Jan. 13, Wasniewski said, he noticed three guns missing from the metal gun locker, which had been pried open.

The stolen guns, which police said are worth more than $1,000, were a .357-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, a Sig Sauer model P230 9mm pistol and a .25-caliber Colt model 1908 revolver.

Wasniewski said he called Ames, accused him of taking the guns and gave him several days to return them.

According to the affidavit, Ames admitted over the phone that he had taken the guns and said he would call the man, named "Juni," who had taken them in exchange for heroin.

Ames never returned to Wasniewski's home, and Wasniewski reported the guns stolen on Jan. 17.

During the Jan. 28 interview with Favalora, Ames said he tried "desperately" to get the guns back but could not reach the heroin dealer. He said his girlfriend was in Vernon on the day he stole the guns and had no involvement.

In the Waterford case, Patrolman Matthew E. Fedor was called to an address on Great Neck Road on Jan. 19 for a reported larceny.

The victim, who is not identified in an arrest warrant affidavit, said she met Ames and Minor through her son, who was in a drug rehabilitation class with them.

After learning the couple were homeless and sleeping in a tent, the woman let them stay at her house for one night because of cold weather.

The woman told Fedor that her daughter called her at work the next morning, said she saw Ames in the mother's bedroom and that he mumbled something and walked out when she asked what he was doing.

On arriving home, the victim said she found about $1,000 worth of jewelry was missing from a jewelry chest she kept on her dresser, according to the affidavit.

The victim called Ames' mother, who told her Ames was using heroin again and was not welcome home.

The victim then called the Fall River Pawn Shop in New London, which was near the mother's home.

They told her they couldn't give her any information and advised her to call police.

Officer Fedor contacted the pawn shop and learned that Ames and Minor had received $17 for a Pandora bracelet, emerald earrings and a silver ring with a pink stone.

Fedor seized the jewelry, which the victim identified as hers, and reviewed surveillance video from the pawn shop showing Ames standing behind Minor while she completed the pawn transaction.

k.florin@theday.com