By Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle The Tribune Content Agency

A man was arrested this week on suspicion of posing as a real estate agent and stealing $25,000 worth of jewelry and checks during open houses at two properties for sale in Marin County, law enforcement authorities said.

The suspect, 50-year-old Joshua Lamont, first used an alias in October to contact the listing agent for a home in Sleepy Hollow, an unincorporated area between Fairfax and San Anselmo, according to a news release from the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Lamont claimed he was working with another agent interested in the home to gain access to a self-guided tour of the property during an open house showing, the release said. Once inside, while the listing agent was distracted with other agents or clients, Lamont was able to locate and steal $15,000 worth of jewelry from the home, according to authorities.

Three weeks later, in November, Lamont used the same ploy to steal $10,000 worth of jewelry and checks from a home in Kentfield, authorities said.

Lamont, whose last known residence was in Southern California, has a history of arrests for similar crimes throughout the state, according to Lt. Adam Schermerhorn, spokesperson for the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives used cellphone and call data records to identify Lamont and traced him to a hotel room in Walnut Creek, where he was registered using his own name and was arrested Wednesday without incident, Schermerhorn said. Jewelry and checks were found at the scene, along with pawn shop receipts to connect him to the burglaries, authorities said.

Lamont was booked into the Marin County Jail on two counts of burglary along with two outstanding warrants for similar crimes in San Diego and Santa Barbara counties, authorities said. Bail for the Marin County crimes was set at $250,000, with additional bail amounts for his outstanding warrants bringing the total to $400,000, the release said.

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