Published: October 31, 2009 01:09 am      

Two sentenced to prison for burglary

Two Greenville men have been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to breaking into a local residence earlier this month.

Juan Antonio Cerda, 29; and Rigoberto Rubalcaba, 28, each a entered guilty plea Thursday to one count of burglary of a habitation during a hearing in the 354th District Court. Under a plea bargain arrangement, Cerda was sentenced to three years and Rubalcaba to five years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division.

Greenville Police Department Officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2900 block of Marshall on the morning of Oct. 15 to meet with the homeowner, who said she had seen Rubalcaba, the person she believed had committed the burglary two days earlier walking with Cerda, her nephew, in the neighborhood.

Officers contacted both Cerda and Rubalcaba, with Rubalcaba admitting to the burglary and at first claiming the pair had sold the video game system, jewelry and other items taken during the break-in for between $30 and $40 in order to buy food. It was later determined that Cerda and Rubalcaba had hidden the items at their respective residences.

The burglary charge was a second-degree felony, punishable by a maximum sentence upon conviction of from two to 20 years in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000.