20-year-old gets prison for burglary

Published 5:20 pm Saturday, December 3, 2011

A 20-year-old Austin man who broke into someone’s apartment while intoxicated was sentenced to two years in prison Friday.

Matthew Allen Smith received credit for 370 days already served. The prison sentence stems from a third-degree burglary conviction, which was also a violation of his probation on two past convictions of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree burglary.

According to a court complaint, the residents of an apartment in the 1300 block of Fourth Street SE woke up around 7 a.m. Sept. 18 to find Smith standing in their apartment. Smith appeared “extremely intoxicated,” according to the complaint, and said he had been dropped off there and thought he was going home.

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Smith left when one of the residents asked him to, but he was later found passed out in the Viking Glass and Lock storage units parking lot.

One of the apartment residents told police he was missing $260 from his wallet after Smith left.

When police questioned Smith, he reportedly became belligerent. The court complaint said Smith told police he was “already looking at eight years and was tired of running and just wanted to get his time over with.” Smith told police he didn’t remember taking any money or entering the apartment.