Two of the three San Jose residents accused of being involved in
the theft of rifles from Big 5 Sporting Goods in Morgan Hill
pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors.
Two of the three San Jose residents accused of being involved in the theft of rifles from Big 5 Sporting Goods in Morgan Hill pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors.
Alexis Tomines, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of possession of stolen property and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Nick Muyo. Tomines agreed to serve a two-year prison sentence.
Ramiro Lozano, 34, who has remained in Santa Clara County custody in lieu of $1 million bail since the March 12, 2009 crime, pleaded guilty to burglary, possession of stolen property, cultivation of marijuana, and three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lozano agreed to a sentence of six years, four months in prison, Muyo said.
They will both be formally sentenced April 5.
A third defendant, Roxanne Villabrille, 35, has not yet entered a plea in response to accusations that she was involved in the burglary. She is charged with buying, receiving, concealing or withholding stolen property, and one count of possession of marijuana for sale.
Police responded to Big 5 the morning of March 12, 2009, when an employee at the store showed up to open the store at Cochrane Plaza to find a hole in the wall next to the rifles section. Seven rifles were missing from the wall display, and video surveillance cameras showed a round piece of sheetrock being cut away from the other side with a saw, and an arm reaching through to retrieve the firearms.
Police said Lozano cut the hole from the adjacent rental unit in the shopping center, which was vacant.
Later that day, acting on a tip police watched as Lozano and Tomines exchanged a black duffel bag at Lozano’s house on Fontanelle Drive, according to police reports. Tomines loaded the bag into the trunk of his car, and police followed him as he left the residence.
Minutes later the officers pulled Tomines over and found at least six of the stolen rifles in his car.
Later that day, authorities acquired a search warrant and went to Lozano and Villabrille’s home. The two suspects were not there, but police found 37 marijuana plants growing inside, plus a list of electronics products, video game systems, checks and identification documents stolen from a number of victims – including some in Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
Police returned to the home March 25 and arrested Lozano and Villabrille.
