Sometime between 10:30 on Monday night and 2:30 on Tuesday morning, the home of Guido Gonzalez was burglarized.
The 3-storey wooden house, located at #4 – 4th Street in the Kings Park Area, was broken into by three young men, all of whom are students at a junior college.
What is shocking about this case is that the victims, who were burgled out of more than $3,000 worth of electronics, showed up in court to ask that the charges be withdrawn.
The accused are Byron Montoya, 21, Kingsley Eusey, 19, both of whom are residents on the north side of the city, and Collin Flores, 18, who resides in Burrell Boom.
The courtroom of Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer was packed to capacity when court sessions convened in the afternoon; families of the accused and families of the victims were present to witness what the magistrate would decide.
All three were charged with burglary, while Eusey and Flores were additionally charged with two counts of handling stolen goods.
Eusey pleaded not guilty to all charges, while Montoya and Flores both pleaded guilty to the charge of burglary. However, Frazer entered an equivocal plea of not guilty on their behalf. They pleaded not guilty to the charges of handling stolen goods.
Although the house that was burglarized belonged to Guido Gonzalez, property belonging to John Hoy, Jorge Tesecum and Chris Gordon were also stolen from the house.
All four appeared in court to ask the court to please show mercy on the accused; they all noted that they were acquaintances of the accused, knew some of their siblings and their parents, had gotten back their properties, and didn’t wish to pursue the matter any further.
After a proper scolding from Magistrate Frazer, she informed the three accused that it was God who had touched the victims and inspired them to come and beg for mercy on their behalf; they were then ordered to apologize to the victims and their families for the wrong they had done.
Mothers of all the accused were tearful throughout the entire hearing, and after all the proceedings were over and they were free to leave, they gathered on the steps of the court and hugged each other.