A 19-year-old Rialto man pleaded guilty Monday to a string of burglaries in Irvine and was sentenced to four years in prison, according to court records.
Aspenn Jones pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree burglary, one count of first-degree robbery, six counts of attempted burglary and car theft, all felonies.
Jones was arrested in September following a report of a break-in on Reggio Aisle, Irvine Police Department Public Information Officer Kim Mohr said.
As officers responded to the break-in, they saw three girls in possession of stolen property, Mohr said. As the officers questioned the suspects, Jones, “sweaty and out of breath,” showed up, Mohr said.
A resident who had chased Jones from his home on Santorini identified Jones as the culprit he was pursuing, Mohr said.
Jones broke into the home on Santorini, woke up a woman there and demanded her car keys, Mohr said. As the woman fetched the keys she alerted other family members of the break-in, and another resident chased Jones out, Mohr said.
Jones’ attorney, Ed Welbourn, said his client accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino.
Jones was eager to settle the case, his attorney said.
“He wanted to admit his guilt at an early stage of the proceedings,” Welbourn said. “He understands what he did was wrong and the gravity of it for the victims in the case.”
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