Man Accused of Stealing Jewelry, Trying to Sell it Back to Owner

A man was arrested on Cape Cod for allegedly breaking into a home, and unbeknownst to him, trying to pawn a jewelry store clerk her own jewelry.

Michael Nickerson was arrested in Barnstable on Friday. He's being held on $3,000 bail.

Bicycle patrol officer Corey Frederickson says he nabbed Nickerson while he was trying to get away on his own bicycle.

Police say on Thursday, Nickerson burglarized a home on Pearl Street, then took the stolen rings to a jewelry store in the Cape Cod Mall, where he tried to pawn the clerk the jewelry.

"My manager grabs the jewelry and looks at it, and I said 'wait a second let me see that ... that's mine,'" the victim said.

The 23-year-old, who didn't want to be identified for safety reasons, told necn that she got a closer look and couldn't believe it.

"I saw the jewelry," she said. "I knew it was mine, I looked at it, and said 'Is he serious right now? He had to have been in my house.'"

She says she quickly drove to her nearby home, and saw the door was broken in.

The victim called police, who arrived at her home.

The manager was able to stall Nickerson until he eventually took off.

"Finally, he's like, 'Can I have my ring back? And [the manager] says 'It's not yours, it's stolen,' and the guy said 'I don't care if it's stolen' and he left," the clerk said.

Oddly enough, police say Nickerson came back to the mall Friday, where the clerk recognized him and called 911.

That's when Officer Corey Frederickson caught him.

"Mr. Nickerson was approaching me on bike, and I was on my bike, he went down off the main road to a side street, I followed him," Frederickson said. "Eventually, he got off the bike and immediately stated 'Is this about the stolen rings?'"

The victim is thankful for police, and says she still has $6,000 earrings missing.

"They're karat weight diamond earrings, 14-karat gold, and yellow, so we'll see what happens," she said.

Nickerson is charged with receiving stolen property and possession of a dangerous weapon.

More charges could be forthcoming, police say.