Michael Thomas Colace, 47, faces up to 105 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Sept. 22 after he pleaded guilty to robbing a 7-Eleven in La Mesa and kidnapping a 69-year-old Spring Valley man in a home invasion robbery.
Colace pleaded guilty to all charges that also included elder abuse, two robberies, two burglaries, using another person’s credit cards, and grand theft auto. The crime spree took place on Oct. 17, 2013.
Michael Thomas Colace, 47, faces up to 105 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Sept. 22 after he pleaded guilty to robbing a 7-Eleven in La Mesa and kidnapping a 69-year-old Spring Valley man in a home invasion robbery.
Colace pleaded guilty to all charges that also included elder abuse, two robberies, two burglaries, using another person’s credit cards, and grand theft auto. The crime spree took place on Oct. 17, 2013.
An accomplice, Terri Marie Franck, 41, went to trial and a jury convicted her of kidnapping for robbery, burglary, and robbery of the Spring Valley man who was terrorized in his own home for four hours.
The 7-Eleven at 5742 Amaya Drive was robbed at 4 a.m. of cash, gift cards, and cellphone accessories after the assistant manager was ordered to lie on the ground by Colace, who wore a Halloween mask. La Mesa Police found Colace’s car later that morning that contained his and Franck’s identification, according to court records.
The pair burglarized a La Mesa house at 5:05 a.m. and took the homeowner’s van. At 9 a.m., they confronted the Spring Valley man in his garage and tied and gagged him. The victim was moved from place to place in the home while the defendants ransacked the residence. They then took his truck.
Franck also faces a life sentence when she is sentenced on Sept. 14. Both remain in jail.
Hit and run driver gets 90 days of electronic surveillance for killing jogger
A hit and run driver whose vehicle killed a jogger in Lemon Grove was sentenced July 23 to 90 days of electronic surveillance under terms of three years probation.
Guillermo Soler-Alvarado, 46, was sentenced for the March 7 accident in which Claudia Ramirez, 29, was killed in the 2400 block of Massachusetts Ave. at 8:45 p.m. not far from her home. She crossed in the middle of the street while jogging with headphones.
“The crime was leaving the scene of the accident, not the accident itself,” said Deputy District Attorney Andrew Aguilar, who added that Soler-Alvarado would likely have not been charged with a crime had he stayed at the scene.
Soler-Alvarado returned to the scene an hour later and there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol involved. A hearing in late Aug. has been set in El Cajon Superior Court.
Preliminary hearing set for Santee robbery
A preliminary hearing has been set for Sept. 29 for Nataley Ann Gutierrez, 28, accused of armed robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Santee in which a prescription pain killer was taken.
Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty in El Cajon Superior Court and remains free on $100,000 bond on condition she stays away from the pharmacy. The incident occurred April 7 at the pharmacy in the 9700 block of Mission Gorge Road. The drug taken was Percocet. A gun was recovered from her Santee home.
