Christine PelisekTwo female burglars who were caught red-handed looting a suburban Porter Ranch home during the Sayre Fire were sentenced to prison on March 5.
Judge Ronald S. Coen sentenced 32-year-old Sabrina Devens to four-years in state prison, and the suspected brains, Gina Rios, 19, to a two-year state prison term.
The duo were confronted in the act on November 15, 2008 by home
owner Rafat Salib after he returned home early to check on his house
after being given mandatory fire evacuation orders to leave the area.
The Sayre Fire had started the night before near Veterans Memorial Park
in the Northern San Fernando Valley, burning more than 2,500 acres —
leaping the 210 and 5 freeways to and threaten 1,000 homes and
structures.
Aware of the evacuation orders, the two women drove to posh,
emptied-out Porter Ranch looking for designer baubles and handbags by
Gucci and Chanel, according to the police. They thought Salib's house
was easy pickings. It was. He forgot to lock his back screen door and
turn on his alarm system when he rushed his family out of the house
with 10,000 other residents early that morning.
When the business owner returned home around 1:30 p.m., he saw Rios
standing in his driveway. The police said Rios told Salib she was
“waiting for Jerry McGuire.” Salib also saw Devens peeking out of his
second floor bedroom window.
Obviously suspicious, he peered into the window of the women's
1994 Infinity and spotted two of his wife's $800 purses, on the
backseat, next to his son's Xbox 360, among other expensive goodies.
Salib argued with them until police, who were driving by, got involved
in the sordid mess. After investigating, the police found that the duo
stole the keys to Salib's Mercedes, gold jewelry, credit cards and
purses.
Last month, Rios and Devens pleaded no contest to a single felony count of first-degree residential burglary.
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