Man Who Targeted Cabazon Outlets Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison

CABAZON, CA — A 21-year-old man who broke into the Cabazon Outlets Mall, stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods with several associates, pleaded guilty Wednesday to burglary, as well as a charge in a separate case, and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison.

Reginald Bernard Mitchell admitted the burglary count, along with firearm assault, under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors dismissed several felony charges connected to the gun case in exchange for Mitchell's admissions.

The plea deal was announced at the outset of a preliminary hearing before Superior Court Judge Jennifer Gerard at the Riverside Hall of Justice. She certified the terms of the agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to sheriff's Sgt. David Greenwalt, about 4:30 a.m. Aug. 1, Mitchell joined "multiple subjects" in breaking into the Cabazon mall, accessing a business that wasn't identified and stealing "several thousand dollars of merchandise."

A burglar alarm was tripped in the process, and patrol deputies converged on the location within a couple of minutes.

"Mitchell was detained at the scene," Greenwalt said.

The other parties, who haven't been identified, couldn't be located.

The gun case stemmed from offenses perpetrated by the defendant in August 2022 in the Riverside area, but details were unavailable.

Mitchell had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.