Posing with stolen property for selfies and photos on their cellphones was the undoing for two South Bay brothers.
They were sentenced Friday to 16 and 12 years in state prison respectively for a series of residential burglaries in Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, and San Diego.
Eduardo Gil, 21, received 16 years and Fernando Gil, 19, got 12 years from Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring.
A jury on Feb. 28 convicted Eduardo Gil of committing 11 residential burglaries in 2015. They also convicted Fernando Gil of 10 residential burglaries after acquitting him of one count.
The jury got to see the photos and text messages that were admitted into evidence.
Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber said the brothers burglarized a San Diego Police officer’s home and took his service weapon. He said they posted a photo of one brother holding the gun while in their mother’s bedroom.
Other photos, most of which were found on their cell phones, showed the brothers posing with stolen property collected in these burglaries.
One brother posed with a stolen rifle in one photo and another brother wore a stolen ring, said Koerber. Other items taken were computers, I-pads, expensive athletic shoes, jewelry, and binoculars.
Some stolen items were sold to a Chula Vista pawn shop where there are video cameras present and one brother presented his identification in order to pawn some stolen property.
A restitution hearing was set for Aug. 3 to see if they should pay any of their victims back for the losses. Both received credit for serving 1,069 days in jail.
Koerber said they were arrested following a routine probation check in 2015. One brother was on probation for receiving stolen property, and an officer discovered stolen property in their residence.
The brother’s DNA was also found on some items. Their cell phone records also showed they were in the vicinity of several burglarized residences.
The prosecutor said the brothers would choose some houses to burglarize if no one answered the doorbell or knock at the door.
They only picked homes where no one was home. They sometimes burglarized homes at night if the place was vacant, and other times in the afternoon.
Koerber sought a 19-year sentence for Eduardo Gil, and recommended the 12-year sentence that Moring imposed for Fernando Gil.
