A Bridgeport man with a history of diamond theft was arrested after allegedly stealing diamonds from the rings of a New Canaan woman and replacing them with fake ones.

George Lawrence, Jr., 40, of Wake Street in Bridgeport turned himself in to New Canaan Police on January 30 after receiving a warrant. He was charged with first-degree larceny.

According to Sgt. Carol Ogrinc of the New Canaan Police Department, a 40-year old female complainant took two of her rings to a jeweler on July 28, 2011 for an estimate on repairs to them. The diamond on her engagement ring was loose while a diamond on another ring was missing.

After examining the engagement ring, the jeweler informed the woman that it was a cubic zirconia, or fake diamond. The woman filed a complaint with the police department on August 17, 2011.

A New Canaan Police officer who filed the initial report, was reading the Stamford Advocate in November and noticed a story about Lawrence having been arrested for two diamond thefts that were eerily similar to the one involving the New Canaan woman. One of the cases occurred in Stamford while the other one happened in Darien.

Upon investigation, police officials discovered Lawrence was an exterminator for Guaranty Pest Elimination, which has several locations in Fairfield County. The New Canaan woman told police that she used the same company to have work done at her home on Sunset Hill Road in mid-July. Records showed Lawrence was the exterminator for that work order.

Lawrence turned himself in last week and bond was set at $20,000. He has a court date on February 10.

Police officials said they have not recovered the missing diamonds.