DANVERS — An East Boston man who got away with handfuls of valuable jewelry from a Route 114 store two years ago — but left behind enough blood for police to get his DNA — is heading to state prison.
John Dedomenicis, 43, was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in state prison after pleading guilty Wednesday afternoon in Salem Superior Court to charges of breaking and entering and larceny.
On Dec. 10, 2006, prosecutors said, Dedomenicis smashed his way into Carter's Fine Jewelry, a store that had recently opened on Route 114 eastbound near the interchanges with Interstate 95 and Route 1.
It was the second burglary at the store in less than two months.
Police arrived at the store less than a minute after the store's alarm sounded at 5:34 a.m., but it was enough time for Dedomenicis to smash several glass cases and take rings, watches and other items valued at around $40,000.
Police discovered a broken window and a trail of blood inside the store.
Police checked area hospitals, looking for someone who might have come in needing stitches but didn't find anyone.
The detectives were able to create a DNA profile. Eventually, they matched that DNA to Dedomenicis, who was in custody awaiting trial on an unrelated but similar case in Plymouth County.
It turns out that the suspect in the earlier robbery, a man named John Hicks, was a friend of Dedomenicis, police said.
After he completes his prison term he'll be on probation for three years, during which he'll have to make restitution to the jewelry store's owner for the insurance deductible the owner paid.
The sentence was a result of a plea agreement that included an offer by prosecutor Michael Sheehan to drop a charge of being a habitual offender, a charge that would have resulted in a 20-year prison term.
Dedomenicis has a lengthy record of similar crimes.
Dedomenicis is currently also serving a seven-year prison term for another burglary. The new sentence will be served concurrently.
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