French Valley Burglar Begins Serving 9-Year Prison Sentence

TEMECULA VALLEY, CA — A 34-year-old felon who perpetrated a series of burglaries targeting businesses throughout the Temecula Valley was in a Riverside County jail Monday, serving the first week of a sentence of nine years, eight months behind bars, after pleading guilty to a dozen felony charges.

Joseph Andrew Roybal of French Valley pleaded guilty in February to 12 counts of burglary and one misdemeanor count of possession of burglary tools under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In exchange for Roybal's admissions, prosecutors dropped three charges against him.

During a sentencing hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Friday, Superior Court Judge Joshua Knight certified the terms of the plea bargain and imposed the stipulated jail term, for which the defendant qualified because his offenses occurred prior to the passage of Proposition 36 in November.

That measure modified the more lenient sentencing guidelines stemming from voter-approved Prop 47 in 2014. Under Prop 36, thieves are eligible for state prison once they've passed a threshold of two felony theft convictions. Additionally, because Roybal's offenses were designated "non-violent" under state law, he qualified for jail-in-lieu-prison to complete his sentence.

"With the new law in effect, if the defendant commits another similar crime — shoplifting, commercial burglary — any further commitment will be to state prison," according to a statement released by the District Attorney's Office.

Roybal was locked up at the Byrd Detention Center.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Josh Hephner, last June, personnel from the sheriff's Southwest station began investigating a spate of commercial burglaries in which a 2021 Honda Clarity was used by the burglar to haul away stolen merchandise.

Multiple businesses were forcibly entered, and numerous items taken, Hephner said, though he didn't specify a value.

Detectives ultimately confirmed the Honda belonged to Roybal, and he was identified as the burglar in more than a dozen instances, according to court documents.

An arrest warrant was served at his residence in the 30800 block of Wisteria Loop, where he was taken into custody without incident on July 19.

Court records show Roybal had documented prior felony convictions for burglary, attempted burglary, vandalism and resisting arrest.