$30K bail for man accused of burglarizing restaurant

The Superior Court has imposed a $30,000 cash bail on a man accused of burglarizing a local restaurant and punching one of the restaurant’s owners in an effort to flee the scene.

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho imposed a $30,000 cash bail last Friday on Johny John Basiente, a man accused of breaking into the GuangZhou restaurant and punching one of its owners when he got caught.

Basiente, 36, is facing charges of burglary, three counts of vandalism, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.

Following his bail hearing, Basiente was remanded back to Department of Corrections custody. Basiente was ordered to return to court on Feb. 17, for a preliminary hearing while his arraignment was set for March 6.

According to court documents, police responded to a theft-in-progress at the GuangZhou restaurant last Jan. 30,

At the scene, officers spoke with one of three victims, Qiwen Wu, who reported the incident.

Wu said that earlier that morning, she and her husband, along with her sister, were sleeping in their rooms on the third floor when they were awakened by their barking dogs.

Wu said she went to check her cameras and discovered that they had been turned off even though she claims she never turns them off.

As she was looking at the cameras, Wu’s husband went down to the second floor where he found Basiente in one of the karaoke rooms hiding inside the restroom.

When Basiente tried to flee the scene, Wu, her husband, and her sister stopped him.

However, when Wu told him to wait for the police, Basiente allegedly punched Wu in the face, pulled her sister’s hair, and pushed her husband and managed to flee the scene.

Outside the restaurant, Basiente allegedly picked up a piece of wood and tried to hit the victims with it before entering a white vehicle. The victims managed to get a photo of the car’s license plate number.

At around 9:17am that same day, Wu was interviewed by investigators, telling them that Basiente had punched her about three or four times.

Basiente was arrested last Feb. 8 and he allegedly admitted to breaking into the restaurant despite having a previous court order that directs him to stay away from the establishment.

Basiente is a habitual offender with criminal felonies dating back to 2006.