But in addition to stealing purses from his victims' Admiral Heights homes, 49-year-old drug addict also stole their peace of mind.

"I never realized how I would feel when he walked into that courtroom," said one victim after seeing Sellman, who was dressed in dark green jailhouse scrubs, in the county Circuit Courthouse in Annapolis. "I was shaking."

In front of three of his 11 victims, Sellman pleaded guilty yesterday to six counts of first-degree burglary as part of a plea agreement with the state. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop or not pursue charges in five other burglaries.

Sellman is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 1. State sentencing guidelines recommend he serve between 42 and 90 years in prison, but Assistant Public Defender Pete Terech asked the court yesterday for lenience because his client is addicted to drugs. He asked the court to bypass a lengthy prison stay and send his client straight to drug treatment.

Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner made it clear Sellman will go to prison in August.

"It (drug treatment) is going to be down the road, in the future, if at all," he said.

Mr. Terech, who told the court his client admits to only eight of the 11 alleged burglaries, declined to comment about the plea until after sentencing.

City police first suspected Sellman was involved with the burglaries after a patrol officer spotted him at about 4 a.m. Feb. 28 walking on the 1100 block of Maple Avenue. The officer also found a screwdriver, a box cutter and other tools nearby, but not on Sellman.

Officer Chester Parker brought him in for questioning that morning, but let him go after taking a statement and his Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes.

Police officially linked Sellman to the burglaries about two weeks later, after the crime laboratory matched Sellman's shoes to shoe prints left at one of the crime scenes. A search of his home turned up several purses stolen from various homes.

Police and prosecutors said Sellman eventually confessed to breaking into several Admiral Heights homes from April 2007 to March 2008.

Assistant State's Attorney Crighton Chase said Sellman targeted the Admiral Heights community, breaking into different homes and stealing purses and wallets he found in the open.

Sellman usually struck when people were out, but Mr. Chase said that wasn't always the case. One woman - a county school teacher - was upstairs with her two children when Sellman kicked in her door and stole a bag of books. Another victim was upstairs in her bed when Sellman broke a window, scared her cat and stole her purse.

"People knew about it and were scared," said Mr. Chase, crediting city police with cracking the case before anyone was hurt. "We're just glad the Admiral Heights community can take a deep breath."

Officer Hal Dalton, a city police spokesman, said Sellman's arrest made Annapolis safer.

"Without even researching the numbers, I can tell you there is a dramatic drop off in burglaries in the area from the first day he was incarcerated," he said.

He said there was one burglary May 18 on Halsey Road in the Admiral Heights community, but he described it as an "isolated event."

Sellman was convicted of burglary in 1995 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Since 1991, Sellman also has several misdemeanor convictions for theft and possession of drugs.

"Hopefully his sentencing will be less lenient than in the past," said Sean O'Neill, president of the Admiral Heights Improvement Association. "He's a career criminal. Our streets are safer without him."