Swingley sentenced to six months in jail for burglarizing Laguna Beach businesses.
A 59-year-old man was recently sentenced for a crime spree in Laguna Beach five years after the fact.
When then-54-year old Reed Myron Swingley was stopped in Laguna Beach on the evening of July 16, 2017, police questioned the driver as his car matched a BOLO (Be on the Lookout) for a vehicle connected to a burglary in that area.
Following a search warrant, they found an antique saxophone, more than $10,000, methamphetamine, money in a stolen safe, designer handbags, a bronze statue, and a bottle of wine in a travel bag. He was arrested and booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of burglary.
This past September, Swingley finally appeared before the court and pleaded guilty to five counts of 2nd degree burglary, three counts of 1st degree burglary, and one count of attempted burglary. He also pleaded guilty to grand theft, a misdemeanor charge.
The burglarising of Mozambique Steakhouse, Horst Architect, Tortilla Republic, and a Laguna Beach residence took place between July 13th and July 15th. The items found in the stopped car Swingley was driving, were identified as property stolen from those locations in an apparent crime spree.
California has seen an upswing in smash and grab robberies, and opportunistic theft in recent years with many perpetrators being allowed to walk out of stores with non-purchased goods. The passage of Prop 47 made the theft of goods up to $950 a misdemeanor. Prosecution for theft below that amount is seen as criminalizing poverty.
Swingley, a resident of Menifee, was sentenced to six months jail with two years of formal probation.
