A 19-year-old woman who burglarized neighbors' homes on Pequot Avenue in Groton in August 2019 received a suspended prison sentence, five years of probation and an order to repay a victim several thousand dollars when she was sentenced Monday in New London Superior Court.

Mercedes Vona, of 369 Pequot Ave., had pleaded guilty in October to two counts of third-degree burglary, and one count each of second-degree larceny and fifth-degree larceny.

Vona served some jail time while her case was pending, completed inpatient drug rehabilitation and is doing well with follow-up treatment, according to Senior Assistant State's Attorney Paul J. Narducci. He said her successful completion of treatment, along with her youth and mental health issues, factored into the plea agreement worked out with Vona's attorney, Bruce McIntyre.

Judge Hillary B. Strackbein imposed the restitution order, which involves several thousand dollars in cash, and said the Department of Adult Probation would determine the amount of Vona's required monthly payments. Upon completion of her probation, Vona's restitution order will be converted to a civil judgement that will require her to continue payments for up to 20 years.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Vona told police she was under the influence of Xanax, which she had purchased from a juvenile male, and marijuana when she broke into a neighbor's home and took thousands of dollars in cash. 

On Aug. 16, Groton Town police officers went to a home on Pequot Avenue for a reported burglary. The homeowner said she left the house about 6 a.m. to go to work, and when she returned home about 6 p.m., she immediately noticed the door to her basement was ajar and found a large metal file in front of the kitchen door.

She said her life savings, a significant amount of cash that she had stored in white envelopes in two safes, was missing. Police told the victim that Vona had been arrested that day for allegedly burglarizing several homes on Pequot Avenue. The woman said she knew Vona, and that Vona previously had been in her home.

Police obtained a search warrant the next day and found 42 white envelopes that matched the description provided by the neighbor, and $12,135 in cash.

During interviews with police, Vona admitted breaking into a separate home on Pequot Avenue because the man who lives there disrespected her mother. She also admitted entering the female neighbor's house through the unlocked basement door and taking "three rubber-banded stacks of money" from inside.

Vona said that, due to her heavy Xanax use, she could not recall some of the events around the time of the crimes. She said she gave some money to her friend and put some of it in her backpack. Vona told police that she saw a Snapchat video that one of her friends posted showing a lot of money. She showed police another video of her and another friend holding large sums of cash.

 k.florin@theday.com