Craigslist ad robber gets four years in prison

A 20-year-old man was sentenced June 25 to four years in state prison for robbing and tasing a 73-year-old gay man who had placed an online ad on Craigslist.

Probation was denied for Lucas Churchill Holmes, 20, of El Cajon, by San Diego Superior Court Judge Michael Groch who fined him $2,063. Groch imposed three years for the robbery and added a year for Holmes committing the crime against an elder.

The victim said he talked with one man on the phone who saw the Craigslist ad, but he never showed up to meet him. He said he forgot to lock the back door before he went to bed.

Holmes broke into the victim’s College area home at 1:15 a.m. April 8. He tased him twice, tied him up and put a sock into his mouth. He left him in the bathtub, and later put pillows under his head.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello said Holmes used Windex to spray on surfaces he touched to remove any DNA or fingerprints. He said there was too much planning for it to be a crime of opportunity.

Pirrello said the victim had Parkinson’s disease and Holmes showed “lack of empathy when he committed this crime.” The victim gave up his credit cards, and Holmes took $600 from his bank ATM. Pirrello urged a 6-year term.

“I’m very sorry for what I’ve done. I wish I could take it back,” said Holmes, wearing jail clothes. “I realize what will happen today is my own fault.”

Holmes attorney, Scott Pactor, said Holmes was an orphan in Moldova in Eastern Europe and suffered abuse before he was adopted by an American family when he was 4 ½ years old.

Pactor told the judge that his guilty plea to robbery spared the victim from having to testify in court. Holmes was living in the camper shell attacked to his pickup truck at the time. He previously worked as a welder.

Groch said he denied the defense request for probation, telling Holmes the 4-year term “will give you time to reflect on your crime.” Holmes received 90 days jail credits. Charges of residential burglary and identify theft were dropped.