Two men have pleaded guilty to multiple charges in the “smash and grab” burglary series in Hillcrest and Normal Heights in which the bandits broke windows in restaurants and fled with cash from the registers.
Carlos Carranza Castaneda, 25, pleaded guilty to burglarizing the Saffron restaurant, at 3731 India St., and D’Angelo’s Pizza, at 4592 30th Street Sept. 29 and Oct. 6 respectively.
Jeffrey Ryon Jakse, 27, pleaded guilty to one burglary, two counts of auto theft, and evading police with reckless driving. San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh set sentencing for Jan. 25, 2016.
Deputy District Attorney Marissa Bejarano said Castaneda faces a prison term of five years and four months. Jakse, who also pleaded guilty to vehicular burglary and using the identification of another in a separate case, faces 10 years and eight months in prison, she said.
Castaneda was also charged with burglarizing Uptown Cleaners, vandalism and receiving stolen property from the Hillcrest dry cleaners Oct. 18, but those counts were dismissed in a plea agreement.
San Diego Police announced the duo’s arrests in the “smash and grab” series Oct. 26. It said they were also suspected of committing other commercial burglaries in North Park, Mission Hills, and Pacific Beach, but no additional charges were filed.
Jakse was arrested in Hillcrest Oct. 19 and Castaneda was apprehended in El Cajon Oct. 22. They pleaded guilty before having a preliminary hearing and both remain in jail without bail.
