A man who burgled several businesses in Castle Rock by posing as a fire inspector has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Michael Loupe, 47, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, third-degree burglary and criminal impersonation, the district attorney’s office said. More than 30 other charges against Loupe were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

“What this defendant did was economically harmful to the businesses he targeted, but it was more insidious than that alone,” said Deputy District Attorney Joel Zink. “He also attacked our trust for one another as community members. This sentence holds him accountable for his manipulative actions and serves as a warning to others who would seek to do the same.”

While posing as a fire inspector, Loupe would go inside of businesses and disable their security systems, allowing him to return later to break in and steal from the safes, the attorney’s office said.

Loupe was caught in February 2020 when he broke into four restaurants in the same night. Though he stole the surveillance equipment from those restaurants, footage from a fifth restaurant he inspected the same day showed him spray painting over security sensors, according to an arrest affidavit.

The footage of that incident was used in a police bulletin, where Loupe was identified by employees from the Department of Corrections, the affidavit said. Loupe committed false fire inspections at least eight other businesses the day he burglarized the four restaurants.

While he was committing these burglaries, Loupe was on parole for a prior felony conviction, having been released in October 2019, the attorney’s office said.

Loupe had previously been arrested for theft, burglary and robbery, and he most recently served time at the Rifle Correctional Facility. There, Loupe learned the skills he used to pose as a fire inspector, serving as a prison trustee who examined fire alarm systems and tested the alarms, the attorney’s office said.

Douglas County District Court Judge Theresa Slade sentenced Loupe on Oct. 18.