Three men in their twenties rounded up in an Orange County crackdown on burglaries and smash-and-grab robberies have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 13 to 21 years in prison, according to court records obtained Wednesday.
Frank Avila, 24, Christopher Williams, 23, and Rico Mason, 25, all pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of burglary, two counts of robbery, two counts of kidnapping, one count of kidnapping to commit robbery, a count of criminal threats and a count of assault with a firearm, all felonies, with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a gun and being armed in the commission of a felony.
Avila and Williams were sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison and Mason was sentenced to 21 years and four months in prison. Avila had 685 days credit behind bars, Williams 714 days and Mason 715 days.
In a motion reviewing bail for the defendants, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who is facing a murder charge related to shooting his wife, concluded in April 2023, that the trio was part of a group that prowled through upscale neighborhoods in Irvine, Brea, Yorba Linda, Buena Park and elsewhere.
On May 31, 2022, the two victims in the case heard something in the backyard of their home in Brea and saw multiple armed men who broke into the house and attacked one victim with the butt of a gun before dragging another victim up the stairs, according to court records. The crew had broken in the day before and unsuccessfully attempted to crack a safe.
The robbers demanded the man open the safe but he pleaded that he did not know the combination. Another resident who tried to run away was captured and the two were held at gunpoint as the robbers stole $50,000 in valuables and then took the safe, which contained $400,000 in cash and about $3 million in jewelry.