A man who has admitted to burglarizing more than two dozen homes on Vashon to support his drug habit now faces burglary charges.

Nicholas Anthony White, 33, was charged last week in King County Superior Court with four counts of burglary for breaking into four island properties and stealing items ranging from jewelry to chainsaws.

However, according to a local sheriff’s deputy and a letter White himself wrote, he has burglarized many more homes than that.

“He is the biggest burglar on Vashon,” said Deputy Jeff Hancock, who has worked on Vashon for over three years. Hancock, who has interacted with and arrested White many times, said he believes White is responsible for the majority of residential break-ins on the island, calling him a “prolific burglar.”

“He has victimized Vashon more than anyone else I know of,” he said.

Charging papers filed on March 31 describe White as a transient man who is known to local police and has a history of stealing property he can pawn to support his drug habit.

“Several pawn shops in the area have refused to take items from him,” wrote Detective Debby Schmitz with the King County Sheriff’s Office.

All four burglary charges are tied to a confession White made last fall. According to charging papers, on Oct. 22, 2014, Hancock arrested White for possession of a controlled substance, and while being questioned, White admitted to several burglaries.

“He was just spewing everything,” Hancock said in an interview.

While in custody, White also wrote a letter apologizing to Vashon residents for his crimes and requested that a copy be delivered to The Beachcomber.

In the one-page letter, White said he had broken into more than two dozen homes on Vashon and called himself a drug addict. He also said he had syphoned gas at “both ends” of the island and stolen flowers from Kathy’s Corner, a local nursery.

“I know we all make the decisions we make and know right from wrong, and I do know right from wrong, but making the decisions while on drugs that I made has only hurt innocent people,” he wrote.

In the letter, White also said he planned to check into a drug treatment program. However, Hancock said he has seen White many times and even arrested him since then.

A spokesman for the King County Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant B.J. Myers, said that while White’s letter said he broke into more than two dozen homes, prosecuting property crimes is not simple and not every case could be investigated or prosecuted. The four he is charged with were all reported to police by islanders who then cooperated with the sheriff’s office’s  investigation.

“Many of them didn’t get reported. … We could only charge on ones we have linked him to independent of him saying something,” Myers said.

White, described as a white male who is over 6 feet tall, weighs about 200 pounds and has tattoos on his neck, is charged with burglarizing three homes and a Christmas tree farm on Vashon in late 2013 and 2014.

In one case, White, who has done odd jobs on the island, was working at someone’s home on the south end last October when he allegedly entered an unlocked home next door and stole a 50-inch flat-screen television. The homeowner didn’t realize that the TV, which was broken, was missing until Hancock followed a tip there and asked him about it. According to charging papers, White admitted to Hancock that he traded the TV for methamphetamine. White later got a call from from his dealer in Seattle, who said he owed him money because the TV didn’t work.

The woman who White was working for at that time told police she was missing jewelry and a checkbook after White was in her home, though apparently no charges resulted from that report.

White also allegedly broke into an outbuilding at a Christmas tree farm on Vashon Highway near the south end and took three chainsaws. The other two charges are for breaking into a home near town and a home on the south end and stealing jewelry and silverware.

Charging papers describe how Hancock found White walking through town carrying a bag with the stolen silverware in it. The owner later identified the silverware as well as some jewelry during a viewing of stolen items that the sheriff’s office held on Vashon last September.

In the other case, Schmitz recovered the stolen jewelry from a pawn shop in Lakewood. Following a lead submitted online, Schmitz recovered six necklaces, two pendants and one bracelet that she believed White had stolen. He pawned the items for $1,594.

Hancock said it is significant that White is being charged with at least a few burglaries and called the cases examples of why people should be careful who they hire for odd jobs and should always lock their doors. White typically enters homes through unlocked doors, leaving no sign of a break-in. In such cases, Hancock said, homeowners may not realize for some time that they have been burglarized.

“Vashon is just prime pickings for that,” Hancock said. “Nobody locks their doors. … It’s kind of a dream for someone who has the talent he does.”

According to court documents, White’s criminal record includes convictions for third-degree malicious mischief, reckless driving and attempted possession of drug paraphernalia, all in 2007.

White’s arraignment, where he will enter a plea, is scheduled for Monday. If convicted of the charges, he would face 33 to 43 months in prison.