A probationer who perpetrated burglaries targeting beauty supply outlets throughout the Inland Empire, stealing thousands of dollars worth of products, was sentenced Friday to 16 months in state prison.
Alex Quevedo, 27, of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty last month to organized retail theft under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped four related counts against Quevedo.
During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
In a separate hearing before a different judge Friday, Quevedo’s co-defendant, 34-year-old Gardenia Carolina Herrera of Moreno Valley, submitted a request to fire her attorney, but the motion was denied and a preliminary hearing was set in Herrera’s case for Monday at the downtown courthouse.
She’s charged with organized retail theft, grand theft, petty theft, two counts of burglary and probation violations. The defendant is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
The pair were arrested last October following a sheriff’s department investigation into a theft at a store in the 1600 block of North Perris Boulevard in Perris.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Mahoney said at the time that Quevedo went into the store and grabbed “a large amount of beauty products,” then fled the business.
The getaway vehicle identified following the theft was linked to Herrera, Mahoney said, adding Quevedo was soon after confirmed as the party who had committed the theft.
“Deputies learned Herrera and Quevedo were responsible for previous thefts in the cities of Perris, Hemet and Rialto,” the sergeant said.
They were tracked to University Avenue in Riverside, where they were taken into custody without incident on Oct. 22.
“Deputies located a large amount of stolen property (in Herrera’s car) valued at approximately $6,000,” Mahoney said.
Both defendants have prior felony convictions in California, but the offenses were not listed.