A Bonita man has pleaded guilty to burglarizing a La Mesa firefighter’s car outside the fire station in a case in which Prop. 47 changed one felony charge to a misdemeanor.
Leubrent Bernard Edwards, 30, will be sentenced Dec.9 by El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein. Deputy District Attorney Derek Grilz said he may be placed on probation.
One of the charges Edwards faced before the Nov. 4 election was grand theft of a firearm which he had taken from another vehicle. Prop. 47 immediately reduced thefts of property that is worth less than $950 to a misdemeanor.
Grilz said the gun was valued at less than $950, and the felony was reduced to a misdemeanor. The charge itself and a petty theft were dismissed by Goldstein after Edwards pleaded guilty to auto burglary, a felony.
La Mesa Police said firefighters from station #12 reported they found a man burglarizing their vehicles around 5:51 p.m. on July 28. Their cars were parked in a locked gated lot that was surrounded by a fence but a prosecutor said Edwards could have climbed over the fence.
Edwards fled after seeing police. Edwards eventually ran into a backyard and police found him hiding underneath a vehicle.
He eventually complied with officers’ commands and gave up. The stolen gun and other items taken were recovered. Edwards remains in the central jail on $25,000 bail.
