Atlantic City man with history of stealing allegedly burglarized cell phone store

An Atlantic City man with a history of burglaries and thefts is now accused of burglarizing a cell phone store in the city.

Police were called to the Metro by T-Mobile store on the 1400 block of Atlantic Avenue at 6:41 a.m. Friday in reference to a burglary, Capt. Kevin Fair said.

Two suspects entered the closed business and stole numerous cell phones and other items, according to the report.

A rideshare vehicle was then stopped in the 300 block of North Carolina Avenue by Sgt. Darrin Lorady and Detectives Brian McKinney, Sandra Lino-Melo and Wahab Malik.

Keith Faulkner, 52, and Scott Sewell, 56, both of the city, were inside.

Detectives recovered a bag containing cell phones and other merchandise from T-Mobile.

Faulkner has a history of burglaries and thefts, court records show.

In July 2019, he was sentenced to five years in prison for two cases, including stealing $3,000 worth of lottery tickets and causing $1,000 worth of damages when he broke into a business Sept. 21, 2017, just about two weeks after pleading guilty in to theft charge from that March .

He had nearly a year jail credit at the time of his sentencing. It was not clear how long he was in prison, but he was out by April 5, 2022, when he was charged with theft by unlawful taking and hindering by giving a false name in Atlantic City.

He was released on a summons.

Faulkner has been arrested at least two more times last year. One was a shoplifting out of Pleasantville Jan. 18, 2023, when he was arrested on a warrant but later released.

He then was arrested in Atlantic City on June 5, 2023, for theft by unlawful taking in Atlantic City. Police there released him on a summons.

Faulkner and Sewell were both charged with burglary, theft and conspiracy.

Faulkner was additionally charged with refusal to be fingerprinted and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He is in the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending a detention hearing set for Wednesday.

Sewell was released on a summons.