SAN DIEGO — 43-year-old Devon Taylor and 36-year-old Lauren Patrick appeared before a judge Tuesday while in-custody for each of their sentencing hearings. Taylor pleaded guilty to 40 counts of residential burglary and 40 counts of conspiracy to commit a crime in connection with a 9-person burglary theft ring that stole cash, jewelry, and other valuables from homes in San Diego County, from Chula Vista to Carlsbad, over an 18-month period.
“Even if I grow older until my last breath, the pain of losing my precious belongings will be here forever and that’s something that will never heal,” said Angie Valerio in court during victim impact statements.
Valerio’s Chula Vista home was burglarized in July 2022, an event that still brings her pain and anxiety. Her husband, Tony Sanamat, spoke in court too.
“All the monies are gone as well as the jewelry. How can we bear the pain of losing our most precious possessions, and those are heirlooms, heirlooms from our parents that were given to them by their parents,” said Sanamat.
Defendant Lauren Patrick pleaded guilty to 18 counts of residential burglary and 18 counts of conspiracy to commit a crime. According to the prosecution, Patrick would case the neighborhoods and select which homes to rob, and even knock on doors to make sure no one was home.
“They were very premeditated and sophisticated about how they went about selecting their victims,” said deputy district attorney, Lucy Yturralde. “They sought certain homes that had nobody home and that’s where Ms. Patrick and some of the other female defendants would go and knock or ring doorbells to see if anybody was home. If nobody was there, they’d signal the rest of their crew and they’d come in.”
Patrick’s attorney requested a continuance for his client, citing health concerns, and the judge granted it. Her sentencing hearing will be continued on October 12.
The group’s ringleader, George Boozer, was sentenced to 56 years in state prison last week.
“Mr. Boozer was the shot-caller, or the leader, and Mr. Taylor was one of the ones that would go into the homes and they usually would go in through the back sliding door, smash the glass, and then ransack the house,” said Yturralde.
In several cases, victims’ dogs were pepper-sprayed including Angie and Tony’s Pomeranians. To this day, they have trouble sleeping.
“Every night is a sleepless night. When we hear a strange noise, especially in the middle of the night, we can’t go back to sleep anymore because of fear… fear that these people will come back and rob us again or if not them, someone else,” said Sanamat.
Due to timing constraints in court, Taylor’s sentencing was continued to October 20, 1:30 p.m., and considering the number of crimes and his prior criminal history, he could be facing the possibility of a life sentence.
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