Sentencing set July 20 for Gardnerville burglars

Sentencing is set July 20 for a Gardnerville Ranchos couple who pleaded guilty Monday to two felonies each in connection with a string of Carson Valley burglaries.

Timothy Charles Morgan, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary; his accomplice, Vanessa Briesida Gomez, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a principal to burglary.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Morgan is ineligible for probation because he has a prior burglary conviction.

Morgan's lawyer, Derrick Lopez, said his client was concerned that District Judge Michael Gibbons couldn't be impartial because he sentenced the defendant for the prior burglary.

Morgan was sentenced in November 2006 to five years in Nevada State Prison and ordered to pay $41,809 restitution for his part in a burglary ring that targeted Gardnerville Ranchos residents.

He was eligible for parole after 13 months in prison.

Lopez said he believed Gibbons would be impartial, but agreed to present the issue on behalf of his client.

"If I were in your shoes, I would be wondering, too, why I went to prison and the other person didn't (in the 2006 case)," Gibbons said.

"You were not singled out. You received the sentence in prison because of the facts in the case," Gibbons said. "Having a prior, you'd still be in a lot of trouble no matter who you were in front of."

Gibbons said he would consider it a mitigating factor if Gomez and Morgan help locate the stolen property, and that it would reduce restitution.

Gomez and Morgan were arrested May 7 following a rash of 14 burglaries over the past several weeks throughout Carson Valley.

On Monday, Morgan admitted entering residences with the intent to steal.

Gomez admitted acting as lookout.

"I was outside. I was looking to see if anybody was around. I would warn him or distract the person," Gomez said.

She admitted driving the vehicle and that she knew the items were stolen.

Gomez and Morgan have been in Douglas County Jail since their arrest May 7.