NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man was sentenced to over a year in prison after pleading guilty to burglarizing and vandalizing an auto body shop in Norfolk.

According to officials, just after 1 a.m. on April 3, 2024, 32-year-old William Thomas Wright broke into and vandalized an auto body shop on North Military Highway, leading to an alarm going off. Officers then responded to the alarm, where they found Wright in the rear fenced-in lot of the shop.

Officers stated they also found the shop’s rear garage bay doors opened and saw “significant damage” within the building.

Surveillance footage inside the shop also showed Wright stealing a small dirk bike from the shop. Officers found the bike, as well as a jumpstarting box, near the fence Wright entered the property from.

Following this, officers detained Wright. A search of Wright and his backpack found a lock he had cut open, burglarious tools, multiple identification cards, his wallet, pieces of drywall and a pipe for smoking crack cocaine. Wright then confessed to committing the crime to officers at the Police Operations Center.

On March 11, Wright pled guilty to felony burglary and vandalism and misdemeanor petit larceny. As part of his agreement, Wright will have to pay $1,000 to the shop. A judge ultimately sentenced Wright to a total of one year and six months in prison with four years and six months suspended on condition of uniform good behavior upon release and three years of probation.

Wright was also given the option to serve a shorter sentence of one year if he completes a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program.

“While I have no doubt that Mr. Wright’s substance-use disorder propelled him to commit this crime, it does not give him permission to commit a burglary, and he rightly earned a prison sentence for the crime he committed,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said. “I support the judge’s grace in offering Mr. Wright a shorter sentence if he completes drug treatment in jail. We want two things: For Mr. Wright to pay a price for the crime he committed and for Mr. Wright to acquire the tools necessary for him not to commit this crime again. We will continue to balance accountability with treatment in the cases we prosecute and the sentences we seek.”