LAKEPORT — A 19-year-old Lakeport man was sentenced to 180 days in jail Friday with credits for 93 days of time served for stealing marijuana, pipes and rolling papers from Visions of Avatar.
Brandon Saulter accepted the sentence along with three years of formal probation.
On Jan. 22, Saulter pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and deputy district attorney Alan Upton then dismissed the other charges against Saulter.
Reginald Mills, 21, and Saulter were originally charged with first-degree burglary, possession of stolen property and misdemeanor possession of burglary tools. Mills has an additional parole violation charge. Saulter was charged with petty theft and an unrelated misdemeanor.
Saulter admitted to a Lake County Sheriff”s officer Jan. 5 that about 10 p.m. Jan. 4 he pried back the tin siding of Visions of Avatar on Soda Bay Road to gain access. Saulter said he stole marijuana from a locked box, pipes and rolling papers.
A Lakeport police officer saw Saulter and Mills walking down the street about an hour later, searched them as Mills was on parole and Saulter had a warrant, and found stolen property, Lt. Brad Rasmussen of Lakeport police said.
Starting in November, burglars stole from 12 Lakeport businesses, one of those twice and attempted to break into other stores, Rasmussen said.
Lakeport police found jewelry from a Dec. 24 burglary of The Healing Earth while searching Mills” residence during the ongoing investigation of commercial burglaries in Lakeport, Rasmussen said.
The Healing Earth owner identified seven pieces of jewelry found as coming from the store, Rasmussen said.
Mills waived his preliminary hearing in order to allow the District Attorney”s Office to review an offer his attorney made.
Mills is scheduled to return to court 8:15 a.m. Monday in Department 3 for an omnibus motion hearing, where lawyers are encouraged to file motions before trial. Mills is also scheduled for settlement conference and trial readiness conference 8:15 a.m. March 10 in Department 1, 9 a.m. March 19 for trial assignment in Department 3, and 8:15 a.m. March 23 for his jury trial in Department 3.
Both Mills and Saulter remain in custody at the Lake County Jail.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
