A prolific Lakeside burglar was sentenced Sept. 12 to 31 years and four months in state prison and must serve 85 percent of that term before he can be released on parole, a prosecutor said.
Lorance Allan Davis, 26, pleaded guilty to seven counts of residential burglary, possession of a firearm by a felon, receiving stolen property, carrying a loaded firearm, and possessing hydrocodone without a prescription.
A prolific Lakeside burglar was sentenced Sept. 12 to 31 years and four months in state prison and must serve 85 percent of that term before he can be released on parole, a prosecutor said.
Lorance Allan Davis, 26, pleaded guilty to seven counts of residential burglary, possession of a firearm by a felon, receiving stolen property, carrying a loaded firearm, and possessing hydrocodone without a prescription.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein, who gave him credit for serving 281 days in jail, fined Davis $10,000. A restitution hearing was set for Nov. 14 to see if he owes money to burglary victims who didn’t receive all their property back.
Someone phoned the sheriff’s department Jan. 12 when a neighbor saw Davis climb into a house in the 10000 block of Pasita De Kristy in Lakeside through an open window. The resident was inside the home, and Davis fled in a black Ford Ranger.
Deputies conducted a traffic stop and Davis was arrested. A lot of stolen property was recovered from his vehicle, said Deputy District Attorney Lucy Yturralde. Some of the break-ins were in Santee.
Items that were taken were jewelry, electronics, medications, and one firearm, said Yturralde, who asked for a sentence of 34 years and eight months. His prior record includes convictions for stalking and false imprisonment.
Arsonist convicted of setting five brushfires near SR 67
Jonathan Benjamin Cohen, 45, faces up to 11 years and four months in prison after a jury convicted him of setting five brushfires near state Route 67 in Lakeside and elsewhere.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 30 before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin. A six man, six woman jury deliberated seven hours over two days before convicting him last month of all counts.
Deputy District Attorney Andrew Aguilar said he was pleased with the verdicts and “grateful to the jury for sifting through” a lot of evidence which included 124 exhibits.
Cohen, a mechanic from Poway, was linked to the fires because of video and still camera footage that recorded his cars’ license plates passing the area of where the fires were set. A jail informant testified Cohen talked about setting the fires.
The fires occurred in 2014 and 2015 after Cohen gambled at the Barona Resort & Casino and another casino in Valley Center, said Aguilar. Cohen had “an abnormal interest in fires,” argued Aguilar.
His lawyer, David Thompson, said Cohen had “a gambling problem” but urged an acquittal saying there was no physical evidence that placed Cohen at the scene of any fires. He said he was only charged because a camera picked up his license plate numerous times.
Cal Fire agents conducted a very long investigation of over 3,024 hours from 2006 to 2015 to determine who set isolated brush fires in isolated areas. Cohen was convicted of setting a fire in June 2015 along state Route 67 in Lakeside, and four fires between Escondido and Valley Center.
Other fires that were set in East County were described in testimony as part of a pattern. Cohen was arrested July 9, 2015, after tracking devices were placed on his vehicles. Cohen remains in jail on $250,000 bail.
El Cajon couple pleads guilty to holding maid for services
An El Cajon couple has pleaded guilty to federal charges of holding a maid against her will while she worked for their family and they will be sentenced Nov. 22.
Both Firas Majeed, 44, and Shatha Abbas, 38, has agreed to pay $18,270 to the Indonesian woman that represents the wages she was owed after being forced to work for the couple and their children for free, according to court records.
The charges say the victim lived at a home with relatives of Abbas in Dubai and traveled to El Cajon with Majeed in Nov. 2015. She was forced to do laundry, cleaning, and other services for 16-18 hours per day.
The woman spoke no English and did not know anyone in the U.S., but she passed a note in Arabic on March 18 to a visiting nurse who made a visit to the home for an ailing relative. It was translated and Homeland Security agents visited the home on March 22.
Agents brought an Indonesian translator and talked with the woman who said she did not want to remain there and had been held against her will. She was freed. Agents arrested Majeed and Abbas and seized $7,280 in cash at their home in the 1000 block of South Mollison Ave.
Felony charges were dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Jan Adler after the couple pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of concealing the woman’s passport in order to maintain her labor and services unlawfully.
The couple face up to one year in jail and a $100,000 fine each. Both are free on $10,000 bond. Majeed is also known as Firas Al Tameemi and Abbas is also known as Shatha Hussain.
