Mike on Crime

PLATTE CITY, Missouri (AP) — A burglar who authorities say used the obituary pages to select his targets was convicted of 10 counts Friday.

Prosecutors say Dane S. Johnson and a co-defendant who pleaded guilty burglarized more than 30 Kansas City-area homes, picking their victims by reading real estate listings and obituaries, hitting model homes, homes on real estate tours or homes where owners would be attending funerals.

In one of the five Platte County cases Johnson was convicted of, a man was at a funeral for his wife while Johnson burglarized his home.

“It’s hard to imagine a more cruel and heartless burglary scheme than this one,” Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said. “Picking out a home to break into because the owner is at a funeral reveals a complete lack of any conscience whatsoever. Dane Johnson deserves every year he will spend in prison.”

Johnson, 35, of Kansas City, Mo., was found guilty of burglary and stealing and faces up to 78 years in prison. Co-defendant Landon N. Prothro received 28 years in prison in October 2006 after pleading guilty.

Johnson and Prothro were arrested after a 2006 home burglary in which a resident confronted them.