A Ripley resident initially facing multiple charges stemming from an alleged home burglary in the Blythe area was awaiting sentencing Wednesday following a guilty plea to one felony count.
Pablo Torres, in his mid-50s, entered a guilty plea to a receiving stolen property charge Tuesday at the Blythe Courthouse, according to case records. Felony counts of burglary and conspiracy were dismissed on the same day.
Torres is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20.
Mesa Verde resident Russell Stroschein, 63, was also scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, having previously entered not guilty pleas to the same three charges, according to case records. He is due back for a felony settlement conference on Feb. 4.
Deputies from the Colorado River station received a report of a burglary in progress shortly before 4 p.m. on Jan. 1 in the 17000 block of Palowalla Road in Mesa Verde, an unincorporated area near Blythe, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
A witness claimed to have seen people stealing goods from a nearby residence and putting the property into a gray Ford pickup, sheriff’s officials said.
Deputies found a vehicle that matched the description fleeing the scene and initiated a traffic stop, arresting three occupants — the two aforementioned suspects and 44-year-old Mesa Verde resident Becky Stroschein, sheriff’s officials said.
All three were booked into the Blythe Jail on suspicion of conspiracy and possession of stolen property, according to inmate records, while Torres and Russell Stroschein were also suspected of burglary. About $500 of stolen property was recovered, according to sheriff’s officials.
Inmate records indicate that Becky Stroschein, initially held on $10,000 bail, was released on Nov. 7. She is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Feb. 4, according to case records.