The car thief who stole an $80,000 2015 Maserati Ghibli from a La Jolla dealership has been sentenced to three years in jail after the prosecutor told the judge the defendant had stolen cars before from dealerships.
Probation was denied Aug. 11 for Marcus Lee Allen, 30, by San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide who told Allen “you’ve been to prison twice for almost exactly the same crime.”
His criminal record, and his arrest in a courthouse hallway July 27 for being about two hours late for sentencing, didn’t help Allen, who said nothing in court. He was dressed in a tan jail uniform.
Allen looked at vehicles at the Maserati dealership at 7477 Girard Ave. and picked up the keys off a receptionist’s desk and drove off with the car April 30. Allen was arrested in May about a week after the Italian vehicle was discovered in downtown San Diego and was impounded by police. Allen lived nearby.
Deputy District Attorney Luis Mendez said Allen was convicted in 2009 of auto theft from a dealership in another county and was later found in possession of two BMW car keys from a dealership. In 2008, Allen stole a car after taking a test drive at a dealership, he said, and was last convicted of auto theft in 2011 in Sacramento.
Allen will spend up to three years in county jail with one year under supervision by the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s department gave his projected release date as Jan. 16, 2017.
The Maserati dealership requested a restitution hearing for possible damages to the car and Eyherabide scheduled it for Sept. 10.
