PLAISTOW - The man known as the "Remorseful Robber" is hoping to put his poor judgment call behind him after pleading guilty Tuesday to stealing a wallet and GPS from a woman's purse at Market Basket in July.

"I want to get this over with. This has ruined my life," Christopher Piantedosi told the New Hampshire Union Leader after he was given a suspended 30-day jail sentence on a Class A misdemeanor theft charge.

Piantedosi, 38, of Burlington, Mass., admitted to taking the Hampstead woman's purse from a shopping cart on July 18.

The case made headlines when he showed up at her home on July 26 and returned her $90, plus an extra $10, wrapped up in a lengthy apology letter along with her stolen GPS and a new charger. He signed the letter, "Stupid."

The father of two teenagers insists that he's not a "professional purse snatcher" as some have claimed.

"That's not what I do," he said. "That was my first rodeo and I had a short career. Professional thieves don't return their loot."

Piantedosi said he delivers lost luggage from Logan International Airport and on the day of the theft he made a delivery across the street from the Market Basket on Route 125.

"I ran into Market Basket to grab a couple of items, no intention at all. I was in the soda aisle and I saw a wide open pocketbook sitting there. I walked by it once, then I turned around and I put it in my cart," he said after his sentencing in the 10th Circuit – District Division – Plaistow Court, where the charge was upgraded from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor.

Piantedosi said the woman wasn't with her purse at the time, though she has said she didn't leave it unattended. Rather, she was under the impression it was taken when she bent over and wasn't looking.

He said he went into the next aisle with the purse and took what items he could fit into his pockets, which was her wallet and “something red" that he later discovered was a GPS unit.

Piantedosi left the purse behind in the store and headed off to make a delivery in Tewksbury, Mass.

"I was across the street from the post office, I opened (the wallet) up and realized I had to give this back to her. I had made a mistake," he said.

Piantedosi mailed the wallet back, but wrote down the victim's address from her license so that he could return the $90 that was inside and the GPS in person. He said he didn't want to mail the cash.

He said he wasn't nervous when he showed up at her house.

"I gave it to her. I apologized. She had a dog with her so I made it quick," he said.

Police had said he may have been spotted by an off-duty officer later at a Market Basket in Salem. Piantedosi admitted that he did stop at a Market Basket there, but he didn't steal anything.

Piantedosi said he wrote the apology letter just in case the victim wasn't home when he returned her money, along with an extra $10 and her GPS.

"The letter was just me spilling my guts. I had to apologize. This isn't me," he said.

While some people may think the letter wasn't heartfelt, Piantedosi says it was and that he “came to tears” writing it.

In his letter, Piantedosi suggested he was having some troubles. In the interview, he explained he had financial problems while in between jobs and being laid off, but that's not why he stole the purse.

So why did he take it?

“I want to say just 'cause it was there, instincts, I don't know. I didn't go there for that,” he said.

He eventually turned himself in to police after hearing on the news how the woman was afraid. Piantedosi said he called police and admitted that he was the thief and that he was harmless and wasn't going to go back to her house.

"This has affected my family. This has affected my job. They told me they'd call me when they need me. I went for an interview and they Googled my name and everything came up from every news station so they disqualified me," he said.

Piantedosi said he doesn't regret turning himself in even though he knows it's possible that he could have gotten away with the theft and never been found.

"The message from me is, ‘Think before you act,'" he said.