respondent superior

It has nothing to do with the criminal charge against him. I guess you meant the damage caused and liability therefrom. Common law only requires to employer to be liable if the damage was caused by the employee during the course of the employment. It's hard to argue that the thief's break-in was within his responsibility. Again, a good attorney may be able to give it a good spin in favor of you given some specific facts, but I seriously doubt it with the loss that you suffer. You may get more information on "respondent superior" on wikipedia.