A Hopatcong man accused of stealing jewelry from a home he was doing landscaping work at pleaded guilty to fourth-degree theft in Sussex County court on Jan. 7.

According to a press release from the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, John Shaker, 25, admitted to taking property from a Hopatcong home in June 2012.

Police responded after a resident of the Brooklyn Mountain Road house said she had left for work that day and returned to find $250 worth of jewelry missing from her jewelry box. An investigation led police to find the jewelry was pawned at a shop in Andover.

Shaker is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1.