OCEASIDE — A young man accused of the double burglary of an Oceanside residence pleaded guilty Jan 2. to charges relating to the crimes.
Nicholas Turner, 18, took a fleeting plea agreement that will likely keep him out of prison. “I have no other choice,” he told Vista Superior Court Judge Robert Kearney. Turner, of Oceanside, admitted to a single felony count each of residential burglary and resisting arrest stemming from the Dec. 18 burglary of a residence on Blue Sage Way.
In accordance to his plea deal, he will likely be sentenced to less than one year in county jail, receive three years formal probation and have a strike added to his record, Turner’s attorney Jack Campbell said outside the courtroom.
Additionally, Turner had one felony count each of residential burglary and receiving known stolen property dismissed in lieu of his plea agreement. If Turner had been convicted of all the charges, he faced more than six years in state prison.
Police arrested Turner as he exited the residence, Campbell said. Turner immediately acknowledged he had committed the crime, the lawyer said. He then told authorities he had burglarized the same residence nearly two months earlier, Campbell said.
Turner reportedly stole jewelry and prescription medication from the home, Campbell said. It’s unknown why Turner targeted that particular house, the lawyer said.
Campbell, as well as Turner and his family, who were in attendance at the hearing, were visibly upset with prosecutor Brenda Daly’s unwavering decision to take the plea agreement off the table if Turner turned down the deal. Turner had asked for a week extension to think about and discuss his decision with his parents.
“I thought it was completely unreasonable not to give this guy a chance to figure out what he’s going to do,” Campbell said.
Following the hearing, when asked about not granting the extension, Daly said Turner made the decision to burglarize the residence as an adult and today he had to make this decision as an adult. She said her office would be seeking prison time at Turner’s Feb. 10 sentencing.
As they left the courtroom, Turner’s parents denied to comment, saying, “It’s too fresh.”
