21 hours Ago
A man known as the "burglar to the stars" and the "silver bandit" recently admitted to crimes in Aiken. Blane David Nordahl, 62, pleaded guilty Feb. 10 to a second-degree burglary charge, according to court records .
Judge Courtney Clyburn Pope sentenced Nordahl to six years in prison but provided credit for more than six years of time served. Prior to his guilty plea, Nordahl had been charged with first-degree burglary and grand larceny. First-degree burglary is a felony.
It is punishable by between 15 years and life in prison. Grand larcen y of items valued at more than $10,000 is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Nordahl allegedly broke into and stole silver from several Aiken homes prior to being arrested Aug.
26, 2013. As an Aiken Department of Public Safety detective researched the thefts, he found an article in The New Yorker about Nordahl's exploits. Nordahl also has his own Wikipedia page and has been the inspiration for a few TV episodes.
The detective contacted a Connecticut detective who noticed similarities between the Aiken crimes and Nordahl's "modus operandi" or method. Nordahl removed door and window panels to avoid setting off alarms and used his size — he's 5 feet, 8 inches tall — to avoid detection from police or neighbors. He became known as the "burglar to the stars" after breaking into the homes of several celebrities — Ivana Trump, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen and Curt Gowdy are among his victims — and stealing silver pieces, according to Wikipedia.
Nordahl became known as the "silver bandit" because he only stole silver. The Connecticut detective contacted other law enforcement officers and they connected Nordahl to a string of 70 thefts across the South. Nordahl pleaded guilty to theft charges Nov.
14, 2017 in Brunswick, Ga., and received an 11-year prison sentence, according to the Jacksonville Times-Union . He also served a seven-year prison sentence that ended in 2010.
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