LAKEPORT — A man thought to be connected to a string of January burglaries in Lakeport entered a plea of no contest and was found guilty of two counts of second-degree burglary Monday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
Jeffrey William Stokes, 25, made an appearance in court for his preliminary hearing, but he, his lawyer and the prosecution reached a deal and Stokes entered an open plea.
The deal struck by both sides faced a minor hurdle before it was accepted by the court, as visiting Judge William P. Lamb showed doubts about accepting one plea in the two-defendant case. The cases were split after Stokes decided to, for the second time, pull his time waiver for his preliminary hearing, which had to be done before Wednesday to avoid violating Stokes” rights.
Co-defendant Kimberley Jo Harvey, 46, waived her right to a preliminary hearing and is scheduled to appear in court March 18.
With the plea, Stokes faces a maximum of three years and eight months in prison. Stokes” attorney, Mitchell Hauptman, said they will be pursuing probation time, but the fact that Stokes entered an open plea means Stokes” actual sentence, at this point, is unpredictable.
Prior to Monday”s hearing, Stokes” preliminary hearing was delayed several times because of issues with him waiving and retracting his waiver to have his hearing within 10 days of his arraignment and efforts by the court to keep his case and his Harvey”s together.
If Harvey presents a guilty or no-contest plea, she could face as much as six years and four months in custody.
Deputy District Attorney Sharon Lerman-Hubert said Harvey would face a harsher sentence because of a lengthier criminal record. Hauptman said Stokes has no major offences on his record.
The pair were arrested in January after a Lakeport Police Department (LPD) investigation into a series of burglaries at several businesses and at least one home in Lakeport. Harvey was arrested on Jan. 9 and Stokes on Jan. 17
Among the places allegedly burglarized by the pair were Angie”s Lake County Cleaners, Veronica”s Jewelry, Strings and Things, Round Table Pizza and a residence on 11th Street, according to the LPD.
Both defendants are in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
