UPDATE: Burglars get 23 years for beating Claremont Realtor
POMONA -- Two men who beat a prominent Claremont Realtor nearly to death in the course of burglarizing his home will spend more than two decades in state prison.
Robert Lamonte Jones, 21, and Messigh Liketin Perry-Garner, 16, each pleaded no contest today to multiple criminal charges that carry a total prison sentence of 23 years and 4 months, said Deputy District Attorney Stefan Mrakich.
Jones and Perry-Garner, both of Pomona, were accused of breaking into the home of Vincent Gottuso on Jan. 20 in the 700 block of West Tenth Street.
As the men were ransacking the house, Gottuso, 62, arrived home. Jones and Perry-Garner then beat him severely with a rifle and a shotgun, nearly killing the veteran Realtor.
The mens' case was set to go to trial today in Pomona Superior Court when they opted to take prosecutors' plea offer rather than risk a life sentence if convicted following a jury trial.
Jones pleaded no contest to attempted murder and residential burglary. Perry-Garner pleaded no contest to attempted murder and residential robbery.
Jones and Perry-Garner are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8, Mrakich said.
Mrakich said that he spoke to Gottuso today, and Gottuso said he was satisfied with the prison terms for Jones and Perry-Garner.
"We agreed that was the most appropriate sentence for this particular case," Mrakich said.
Gottuso, who owns Century 21 Prestige Properties offices in Claremont and Upland, did not return calls seeking comment this afternoon.
According to police testimony during a March preliminary hearing, Jones and Perry-Garner beat Gottuso so severely that the Realtor's wife did not recognize him when she arrived home and found him bloodied and lying on a couch.
The two men entered Gottuso's home after stacking bricks for use as a step stool below a first-floor bedroom window.
Gottuso told police that when he arrived home, he found Jones and Perry-Garner in his home, according to preliminary hearing testimony.
"They just started beating him severely," Claremont police detective Hector Tamayo testified at the hearing. "They were like animals, is how he described it."
Police believe the men left Gottuso in the home thinking he would die from his injuries. Gottuso suffered large cuts on his head -- ranging in length from 5 to 8 inches, Tamayo testified.
The attackers were arrested in the days following the attack at Claremont West Suites, 475 E. Foothill Blvd. in Pomona, a low-rent motel where police believe the men were living.
Police found numerous items stolen from the Gottuso home in the brothers' motel room.
Gottuso's sister said following the March hearing that Gottuso had returned to his daily real-estate work, though with reduced hours.
A third man arrested in the case is unlikely to face criminal charges, Mrakich said.
Kenyaya Deshon Harris, 33, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Harris was accused of selling items to a Pomona pawn shop that had been taken from the Gottuso home.
When police contacted Harris he was cooperative, Mrakich said, and he helped lead authorities to Jones and Perry-Garner.
At the sentencing hearing for Jones and Perry-Garner, Gottuso, his family and the defendants will have an opportunity to address the court prior to sentencing, Mrakich said.
Oct. 15, 2009 CORRECTION: A previous version of this blog post identified Jones and Perry-Garner as brothers. They are not related. The men told Claremont police officers they were brothers when they were arrested.
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