Local News in Brief : Pleas in Theft Scheme
Two executives of a Highland Park plumbing firm have pleaded no contest to felony charges that they bilked 22 elderly residents out of thousands of dollars by performing unnecessary repairs. A third man pleaded no contest to two similar counts.
Michael Terrance Carr, owner of Martin Plumbing & Heating Inc., and an employee, Mark C. Ryder, entered the pleas Monday to charges of conspiracy and grand theft after the district attorney’s office agreed not to seek prison sentences from Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Florence-Marie Cooper.
Ryder’s brother, William D. Ryder, pleaded no contest to bilking two elderly residents, Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Suzukawa said.
Suzukawa said that, in return for the pleas, he agreed not to oppose a defense request that the men be placed on probation, as long as they also serve some time in county jail and make restitution to their victims.
Sentencing was set for Feb. 22.
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