A man who was arrested for allegedly pistol-whipping a 71-year-old woman inside a Beverly Grove home and removing a cache of high-end jewelry pleaded no contest Tuesday to first-degree residential robbery.
Dillon Klincke, now 33, was immediately sentenced to 10 years in state prison following his plea, in which he admitted gun use and great bodily injury allegations, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
A lone suspect wearing a Halloween-type mask entered the woman’s home just before 2:30 p.m. Aug. 17, 2022, the Los Angeles Police Department said soon after the crime.
“Once inside the location, the suspect pistol-whipped the victim and demanded access to a safe that contained a large amount of expensive jewelry,” police said in a statement.
“The suspect gained access to the safe, removed the jewelry and fled the location with the victim’s property,” police said. “The victim sustained bruises and lacerations as a result of being struck by the suspect. She was treated by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics and released at scene.”
Investigators at the scene told reporters the items taken from the home included some high-end watches, possibly Rolexes, with the pilfered merchandise valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Klincke was arrested late the same evening by Los Angeles police and has remained behind bars since then, according to jail records.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the jewelry that had allegedly been stolen was subsequently recovered.