KINGSTON >> A Plattekill man has pleaded guilty in Ulster County Court to burglarizing a home while armed with a loaded gun, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Ruben Rodriguez, 24, pleaded guilty May 22 to felony burglary before Judge Donald A. Williams just as a pretrial hearing was about to begin, according to District Attorney Holley Carnright.
Rodriguez and an alleged accomplice, David Valenzuela, used a crowbar to pry open the door at residence on Route 44/55 in the Plattekill on Sept. 22, 2014, Carnright said, adding that Rodriguez held a loaded gun as he and Valenzuela entered and ransacked the residents and stole various items.
After the burglary, Rodriguez and Valenzuela ran to a get-away vehicle, a gold Chrysler Pacifica driven by Rodriguez’s girlfriend that was parked in an adjacent driveway, according to the prosecutor.
The owner of the residence then pulled into his driveway, blocking the get-away vehicle from leaving, but Rodriguez threatened him with the gun and fired a shot into the front passenger door of the man’s vehicle, Carnright said. No one was struck by the shot.
After being arrested, Rodriguez and Valenzuela gave statements to police in which they admitted involvement in the crime, the District Attorney’s Office said.
In exchange for his cooperation, Valenzuela, who has no criminal history, was allowed by the prosecutor to plead guilty April 7 to a Class C felony of burglary that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison.
Rodriguez, who has a prior felony record, pleaded guilty to Class B violent felony of burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Rodriguez is to be sentenced July 30.