No Contest Pleas From Couple In PetSmart Burglaries; Homes Ransacked After Pets Boarded
REDWOOD CITY (CBS SF) -- A former San Carlos PetSmart employee and her boyfriend have pleaded no contest to burglary charges for a series of break-ins at homes they learned were vacant when the residents' pets were boarded at PetSmart, San Mateo County prosecutors said Tuesday.
San Jose residents Ashley Lynn Kirk, 24, and Juan Carlos Ortega-Ramos, 25, entered the plea Monday to 11 counts of residential burglary in exchange for no more than 20 years in prison for Ortega-Ramos and no more than 10 years in prison for Kirk, according to the district attorney's office.
They were first arrested in September 2013 for the burglaries but were released without charges until a warrant was issued for their arrest in January, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.
They were both arrested in Discovery Bay on Jan. 13.
Kirk would learn of vacant homes when pets were checked in at the PetSmart at 1225 Industrial Road and the couple would then ransack the homes, stealing electronics, jewelry and even a silver Porsche 991 from a Portola Valley home.
The couple entered the plea Monday before San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Susan Etezadi. Ortega-Ramos also pleaded no contest to a gang enhancement for being a Norteño gang member, prosecutors said.
The couple remain in custody under $500,000 bail and are due for sentencing on Nov. 6.
