Two people pleaded guilty Oct. 14 to burglarizing a Paradise Hills house while the occupants were attending the funeral of a loved one.
Additionally, David Andrew Valenzuela, 34, of El Cajon, and Jennifer Lynn Martinez, 33, of San Diego, pleaded guilty to similar burglaries respectively and one attempted burglary with the same theme: burglarizing houses of people attending funerals.
The couple researched online obituaries and looked for the time of day when funerals were to take place and broke in during those moments, according to El Cajon Police. They researched the names of survivors listed in obituaries as to where they lived. Sometimes they burglarized the house where the person who died lived in.
Both Martinez and Valenzuela each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in state prison, but El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein said he would consider a sentence between 10-12 years.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 14. Probation appears to be ruled out and both defendants remain in jail. They also pleaded guilty to two counts of using stolen credit cards.
The burglary in Paradise Hills took place on Feb. 27 on Calle Quebrada. Five burglaries occurred in El Cajon. Other houses broken into took place in Allied Gardens, La Mesa, Navajo, Casa de Oro, Linda Vista, and Clairemont.
Two burglary charges in El Cajon were dismissed against Herbert Jon Cruz, 35, of San Diego. Cruz is facing a separate case of 14 counts of burglary, receiving stolen property, robbery, and other charges in San Diego Superior Court.
