MOSES LAKE — A man who broke into a house in Moses Lake and fled after the homeowner came home will be spending six months in jail.

Samuel Peppinger, 18, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to residential burglary and third-degree malicious mischief.

Peppinger’s sentence relates to a March 1 incident during which a man contacted police to report coming home to his residence in the 1100 block of Abbey Road in Moses Lake and finding a man inside. The victim said the suspect, Peppinger, was in his late teens and fled from the residence on foot, according to court documents.

Police found Peppinger had spent a “considerable” amount of time inside of the house. Peppinger went through every room in the home and rummaged through a number of cabinets, as well as a safe. In the dining room police found laundry baskets which they surmised Peppinger was using to carry all of the items he was planning on stealing. In addition, police recovered two backpacks and a skateboard that did not belong to the victim.

“The suspect had used a large screwdriver and a (four-pound) hammer to gain entry into the safe, destroying the safe in the process,” wrote a MLPD officer. “The safe was a fire rated safe and when broken open left dust all over the bathroom. I observed the dust footprints which showed the shoe pattern to be diamonds on half the sole and dots on the other half.”

Peppinger was located a few blocks away from the burglary scene and contacted for questioning, as he matched the description of the suspect and had on shoes that matched the prints found at the scene. The victim was able to positively identify Peppinger as the person he saw run from his house. The victim’s wife further advised that before she left for work that day she saw a male with a skateboard walking in a field to the east of her home.

Peppinger, who was homeless at the time, initially denied breaking into the home, but he later came clean and admitted to watching the woman leave for work.

“Peppinger stated he then cased the neighborhood before throwing a rock through the back door window and going inside. Peppinger stated he brought a screwdriver and used one of (the homeowner’s) hammers he found in the garage to break into the safe. Peppinger stated he left his skateboard and two backpacks at the house.”