Malibu : Burglar Gets 4-Year Term
A former employee of producer Jerry Weintraub was sentenced this week to four years in prison for stealing as much as $3 million in gold, diamonds and other jewelry from the producer’s Malibu estate.
John David Felix, 30, pleaded guilty to residential burglary charges in early June. He was sentenced Monday by Malibu Municipal Judge Lawrence Mira.
Felix “cleaned out” Weintraub’s jewelry storage area while working odd jobs for him last December, and then made his way to Amsterdam in an effort to sell the jewels, said Detective Jay Kimball of the Malibu county sheriff’s station.
Authorities are still searching for most of the jewels. Two of the three people charged with receiving stolen goods from Felix have been convicted and the other is awaiting trial, Kimball and Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Wilson said.
Through his lawyer, Felix, who has AIDS, told the judge that he wanted to be able to live out his last remaining days at home rather than prison. Such a decision is up to state corrections officials, Kimball said.
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