Man Sentenced In Series Of Break-Ins, Including Andover Home

ANDOVER, MA — A man pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced for a series of 10 burglaries across several Massachusetts towns including Andover.

The break-ins targeted homes belonging to Asian or South Asian families, according to a statement from Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

Juan Castano, 32, of New York, broke into four homes in Quincy, four in Newton, one in Wellesley, and one in Andover. He stole about $200,000 worth of property, prosecutors said.

An investigation found that he initially scouted homes by carrying a clipboard and approaching the front door. The thieves then broke windows or glass doors to gain entry to the homes, ransacked them, and left with valuables, according to Ryan's statement.

Castano pleaded guilty to 21 indictments. A judge sentenced him to 4 to 5 years in state prison as a common and notorious thief. This will run consecutively with a 5.5-to-11-year prison sentence he is serving in New York for similar crimes.

“Castano chose homes to break into based specifically on the ethnicity of the residents. He specifically came to Massachusetts from the New York area to commit these crimes. His plan not only violated the victims’ sense of safety, but, in one instance, he created a physical threat for the family, including children, who were at home during the break,” Ryan said in a statement.