A convicted felon who stole sections of metal fencing attached to the Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center in Riverside pleaded guilty Thursday to grand theft and was immediately sentenced to two years in Riverside County jail.
Robert Gerald Ivory, 39, of Mead Valley admitted the felony count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped a charge of receiving stolen property.
Superior Court Judge David Gunn certified the terms of the plea agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
Ivory was eligible to serve his time in a county detention facility instead of state prison under provisions in AB 109, the Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, which specified that certain “non-violent” felony offenders be incarcerated locally, mainly to free up correctional space at the state level.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Curt Harris, the pipe fencing was discovered stolen last month from equestrian grounds near the intersection of Alexander Street and Nandina Avenue that are maintained by Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center personnel for sheriff’s posse volunteers.
The stolen fencing was valued at more than $2,000, Harris said.
Sheriff’s employees driving by the Tonaya Feed & Grain Store north of Perris on June 26 noticed what appeared to be portions of the fence laying outside, prompting them to call the sheriff’s Perris station, Harris said.
Investigators visited the location and confirmed that the fencing belonged to the county, at which point it was seized. Harris said the store proprietor aided detectives in identifying who sold him the materials.
In the meantime, another 10 sections of pipe fencing, valued at over $1,200, were stolen from the academy grounds. However, immediately after the second theft was discovered on June 28, investigators detained Ivory in connection with the initial theft and found the “horse fencing that had been stolen earlier in the morning” in the bed of his pickup, Harris said.
According to court records, Ivory has served time in state prison and has prior convictions for auto theft, resisting arrest, possession of controlled substances and receiving stolen property.