Two Men Plead Guilty in iPad Thefts From Lakeside Schools

Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to burglary charges stemming from the thefts of iPads and other devices from schools in Lakeside and several other San Diego County communities.

Trevor J. Williams, 21, and Eyon Zimmerman, 19, both of Riverside County, changed their pleas as trial was to begin.

Williams will be sentenced to seven years in prison on Aug. 16. Zimmerman will be sentenced to five years behind bars the same day.

A third defendant, Thomas Earl Burleson, 21, is set for trial on Wednesday.

Williams and Burleson are documented gang members and Zimmerman is a known associate, according to Deputy District Attorney Brendan McHugh.

In court, Williams and Zimmerman admitted the crimes were committed for the benefit of their gang, McHugh said.

In addition to Lakeside, the three were charged with breaking into classrooms at schools in Del Mar Heights and Cardiff among other communities. 

They stole iPads, laptop computers and other electronics. Authorities said the thefts began last Nov. 18.

Some of the defendants used their cell phones in the area of the schools the nights of the break-ins, according to previous court testimony.     

The defendants were arrested Jan. 30 at a Temecula-area Border Patrol checkpoint. 

The iPads stolen from the Del Mar Heights school earlier that morning or the night before were recovered from the defendants' car, along with a laptop computer, bolt cutters and a projector, McHugh said.

– City News Service