A paroled serial burglar was ordered Wednesday to stand trial for yet another burglary in the South Bay in which this time a firearm and ammunition were stolen.
Fernando Arredondo Gil, now 23, was sentenced to 12 years in state prison in 2017 after being convicted of 10 residential burglaries in Chula Vista Superior Court.
Gil was paroled in March from Salinas Valley State Prison because officials felt his offenses were non- violent and he had “no history of any violent felonies,” according to online records from the Department of Corrections.
On Wednesday, Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Garry Haehnle ordered Gil and Edgar Beleche Preciado, 22, to stand trial for residential burglary of a house south of Chula Vista on Sept. 5.
A Glock firearm with ammunition, identification, computers, and the piggybank belonging to the daughter of the homeowner was taken in the burglary, according to testimony in the preliminary hearing.
“Mr. Gil is an experienced burglar,” said Deputy District Attorney James Koerber.
Koerber asked Haehnle to increase the $350,000 bail for Gil citing his long record, but the judge denied it.
Gil was also ordered to stand trial for two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and being a person who is prohibited from possessing ammunition. Gil did not know the resident whose home was burglarized.
The DA’s office objected to Gil’s parole. The Department of Corrections has been releasing non-violent inmates in part because of the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and overcrowding.
“It should be noted that great weight was given to the fact the inmate Gil has no history of any violent felonies,” stated a ruling by the Board of Parole hearings.
“Inmate Gil does not pose a current, unreasonable risk of violence or a current, unreasonable risk of significant criminal activity and is approved for release,” the ruling says.
The ruling says Gil had no violations of rules resulting in physical injury or threat of injury to others while in prison.
It mentions Gil’s “physical and cognitive limitation and the totality of the circumstances of the case factors.”
Gil and Preciado were arrested by San Diego Police on Sept. 6. Gil remains in the central jail while Preciado is housed in the George Bailey Detention Facility. There is a warrant for Preciado’s arrest from another county, so he cannot post bail.
The hearing was held remotely with the attorneys and witnesses speaking via computer cameras. The defendants appeared on video feeds from jail.
