Shortly after learning his uncle had inherited a large sum of money, authorities say Daniel Gregory Franco and a friend broke into his St. Paul home.

When they got busted, Franco tried to bribe police officers with heroin to keep from going to jail, according to charges filed in Ramsey County District Court this week.

Franco and his friend, Richard Joseph Wollenberg, cut a porch screen at Franco’s uncle’s home on the 1200 block of Sherburne Avenue about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, according to the charges, and then used a crowbar to break an interior window.

A neighbor heard the window break and saw flashlights inside the dark home, and called police.

Wollenberg and Franco were arrested while attempting to flee out the front door after officers arrived, according to the charges.

Franco, 31, reportedly dropped a green backpack containing a handgun and ammunition as he ran.

The Stillwater man has three felonies on his record, including one for fifth-degree drug possession from 2016, and is not allowed to have guns.

When Franco’s uncle returned home, he discovered several rifles missing from an upstairs bedroom and a handgun from a dresser drawer; he also couldn’t find two sets of vehicle keys.

Several other areas of his home had been rummaged through, and he told police he suspected he was targeted because he recently had “come into a large sum of money,” according to court documents.

Officers found his bag of rifles left behind in the kitchen. His missing handgun was the one discovered in Franco’s backpack, charges say.

Franco, who was injured when a canine apprehended him, told police while en route to the hospital that his uncle asked him to watch his house after recently inheriting a lot of money and that he was there watching TV when police showed up, according to the charges. He said he ran because he got scared, and denied possessing a gun or hearing police canine warnings.

When police told him they had body camera footage of the encounter, Franco offered to get the officers heroin in exchange for going to jail, according to the charges.

Wollenberg told police Franco had invited him to go to his uncle’s house that night, and said the two used flashlights inside because Franco told him the power was out.

Both sets of the missing vehicle keys were reportedly found in his possession.

Franco’s uncle said neither man had permission to be inside his home, and told police he didn’t understand why his nephew would steal for him as he recently wrote him a check for $3,000 and had planned to give him another $25,000.

Both men were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree burglary.

Wollenberg, 34, of St. Paul has four felonies on his record, including convictions for drug possession and burglary. He told officers he and Franco are friends from using heroin together.