A jury convicted a registered sex offender Dec. 23 of attempted kidnapping and committing a lewd act upon a teenager while armed with a knife in Chula Vista.
Because he is a third strike offender, Leonard Earl Scroggins, 34, faces 150 years to life in prison. Chula Vista Superior Court Judge George Clarke set sentencing for Jan. 24.
Scroggins was on parole in Napa County, but he cut off his GPS bracelet and drove to Chula Vista and National City on May 18, 2010, where he committed a number of brazen crimes before he was arrested several days later by National City Police.
A 21-year-old woman testified she was walking down East 30th Street in National City when Scroggins grabbed her purse in the afternoon on May 19. The woman said she memorized the license plate of the Nissan minivan he drove off in and told police. A 14-year-old girl also testified about having a knife put to her throat by Scroggins as he tried to drag her into his car in National City. The girl was able to escape. Two others testified Scroggins tried to rob them in Chula Vista.
Scroggins remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility on $2 million bail.
