1st Case Under New State Law Is Filed Against Theft Suspect
- Share via
SANTA ANA — Orange County prosecutors Tuesday filed the first criminal case under recently enhanced state punishment guidelines against a 33-year-old Rosemead man accused of stealing clothes from a Mervyn’s store in Garden Grove.
The case against Manuel Vincent Juarez does not qualify him for the mandatory life sentence for three-time losers under the “three-strikes” provisions. But Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent F. Romney said Juarez’s one previous felony conviction makes him a “two-strike” defendant facing double the minimum punishment if convicted.
Instead of 16 months in prison, Romney said a judge would be forced to sentence Juarez to at least 32 months if the man were found guilty of the March 12 second-degree burglary at the Harbor Boulevard department store.
Romney said Juarez is accused of taking about $300 in clothing from the store Sunday, and has a 1986 robbery conviction from Los Angeles County.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
