Couple sentenced to home detention for 1 year in thefts

A Glen Burnie couple who allegedly shared a cocaine habit will share a year of house arrest and five years' probation, and have to pay $833 in restitution after pleading guilty to theft in November.

Michael Allen Oldaker and Tracey May Oldaker, both 32, were sentenced Friday to detention in their home in the 900 block of Princeton Terrace by Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Clayton R. Greene Jr.

Their convictions on three counts each of theft over $300 followed Michael Oldaker's arrest in April on drug possession charges. Police later found items in their home matching those taken in burglaries around the county, according to charging documents.

The couple's lawyer, Ronald I. Kurland, told the judge that they acted out of desperation -- even selling drugs -- because of a cocaine habit that cost the woman $500 a day and her husband $400.

In asking for a sentence of house arrest, Kurland pointed out that the couple voluntarily enrolled in a home-detention program in November and only go out to work or to participate in addiction-treatment programs.

Tracey Oldaker's parents have custody of their 6-year-old daughter, he said.

Pub Date: 1/11/98