On July 10, Hugo Rivera was convicted of one count of grand larceny, a category C felony and sentenced to 24-60 months in prison.
In an arraignment hearing on April 3, Rivera pleaded guilty to the grand larceny charge from February. As a part of the stipulations, his bail was reduced from $30,000 to $5,000 at that time.
He appeared in court in the months following in which the case was granted continuances to allow more time for legal counsel to review and gather more information to determine potential restitution owed to the victim, during which time Rivera was not in custody.
During the sentencing arguments, legal counsel disagreed with how much restitution should be owed, as the original charges which included burglary and grand larceny showed a loss amount to the victim of $11,378. However, the plea agreement Rivera signed stated he would plead guilty to the count of grand larceny in an amount not to exceed $3,500.
Public Defender Matthew Stermitz argued that the court is bound by law in terms of the plea agreement, and by ordering the defendant to pay more than $3,500 would be a breach of the plea agreement and would be asking Rivera to pay for restitution in connection with burglary charge that was dropped as part of the plea.
Stermitz also noted that another party was involved in this incident who would also be responsible for paying restitution to the victim.
Some of the items Rivera took from the victim reviewed in court were said to have been since returned to the victim including a toolbox, night lighting and a heater.
Rivera was ordered to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $3,500, the amount agreed upon in the signed plea agreement. He was also ordered to pay a $250 public defender fee, $3 DNA fee and $25 administrative assessment fee.
“No co-defendant has come before this court for sentencing yet, but understanding the factual allegations will make it jointly liable for any co-defendant that may be sentenced,” said Judge Michael Montero.
In Rivera’s statement to the court, he apologized for any loss or damaged that he caused the victims. He told the court he hadn’t been in trouble for nine years, had held a job at Sunrise Plumbing for three years and said he was currently employed at Sonoma Lawn Care.
Rivera stated that is 37 years old and has three children, with a GED being his highest level of education.
“I’m asking for a chance to be a better member of society and better father, be able to provide for my family and pay whatever I can,” said Rivera.
Montero further sentenced Rivera to 24-60 months in the Nevada Department of corrections, with 29 days credit for time served.
Montero questioned Rivera’s allocution statement regarding not being in trouble with the law, stating that the records he was looking at showed criminal convictions in 2017, 2015 and 2013.
“The court has given much consideration to the plea agreement, the PSI (pre-sentencing investigation report), the victim impact statement, the allocution by the defendant and taking into consideration the criminal history of the defendant,” said Montero. “You will carry out the sentence.”
Hugo was immediately taken into custody to be transferred to the Nevada Department of Corrections to carry out the sentence.
