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Split verdict in Monte Vista Hotel burglary case
A Superior Court jury yesterday found Kyle Cabael guilty of two charges and not guilty of one charge in connection with the burglary at Monte Visa Hotel and Restaurant in Navy Hill.
The six jurors found the 22-year-old Cabael guilty of theft and conspiracy to commit burglary and theft. The jurors, however, acquitted him of burglary.
Theft and conspiracy to commit burglary and theft carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The jurors deliberated for an hour on Wednesday and resumed deliberation yesterday morning. They reached a unanimous verdict in the afternoon. The trial began on Monday.
Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, who presided over the trial, set the sentencing for Nov. 26, 2014.
Camacho vacated Cabael’s pre-trial release and remanded him into the custody of the Department of Corrections.
In an interview with reporters, attorney Colin Thompson, court-appointed counsel for the defendant, said they need time to digest the verdict because it’s split. He said they will be evaluating the verdict to see what legal options they have.
“We will take [it] one step at a time from here,” he added.
Assistant attorneys general James McAllister and Clayton Graef, who prosecuted the case, refused to comment.
Police said that cash and several items were stolen from one of the rooms at Monte Vista Hotel and Restaurant during the Feb. 17, 2014, burglary. A surveillance camera at a store led to the arrest and filing of charges against Cabael and two co-defendants.
Cabael’s co-defendant pleaded guilty and received two years in prison. The government dropped the case against a third defendant.
A teenager, who is now 18 years old, was charged in juvenile court in connection with the same incident.
