Wednesday Apr 30

Children's Theatre burglary suspect going to jail

East Palo Alto man will serve six months after pleading no contest

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

The man suspected of burglarizing the Palo Alto Children's Theatre will serve jail time after pleading no contest this week to the charges against him, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office reported.

Abraham Torres, the East Palo Alto resident arrested on suspicion of burglarizing the theater last summer, will spend six months in jail for his role in the break-in, said Amy Cornell, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Torres pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree burglary in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Monday, Cornell said.

Last month, Torres confessed to participating in the June burglary, in which he and several other suspects broke into the theater and stole a printer, $250 in cash and coins and roughly $500 in traveler's checks, according to Palo Alto police Sgt. Sandra Brown.

The city's police department is continuing its investigation into the other suspects involved in the break-in as well as a separate investigation into alleged financial crimes at the theater, which resulted in the suspension of four city employees.

Torres will be formally sentenced on June 19 at the Palo Alto Courthouse.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.