SAN DIEGO
Most of the burglaries hit in early 1995, break-ins at Rancho Santa Fe homes. The thief made off with pricey pieces of jewelry.
James Sotero Riviera was eventually arrested. In 1997, a San Diego jury found him guilty of a string of burglaries. Riviera already had a criminal record, one that stretched into Arizona and New Mexico. Convictions there, plus a prior one in Northern California, meant those local break-ins would come at a hefty cost under California’s three-strikes law. He got 140 years to life. Killers get less time.
Riviera is now 84 and living in a San Luis Obispo prison. But within the next two weeks, he will be released on parole, with more than a hundred years shaved from his sentence. San Diego Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom agreed Monday to resentence Riviera to less than 28 years effectively time served.
Sentencing Law and Policy: New statement from prosecutors and law enforcement urging review of extreme prison sentences
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Sentencing Law and Policy: April 11, 2021
typepad.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from typepad.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.