Leader of Theft Ring Sentenced in Boy’s Death : Courts: The Reseda man, accused of recruiting youths to commit crimes, gets almost five years in prison after a 13-year-old dies during a burglary.

A Reseda man accused of recruiting young boys into a burglary ring--including a 13-year-old who was killed by falling glass during a break-in--was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to child endangerment and burglary.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ashmann sentenced Julio Grassano, 23, to four years and eight months in prison for the two charges stemming from the April 10 death of Donald K. Saravia.

Though Grassano will begin serving his prison term immediately, the district attorney’s office is continuing its appeal of two rulings that held that Grassano could not be tried for murder in the death of the boy.

If prosecutors win the appeal, Grassano will be brought back from prison to face a murder charge, Deputy Dist. Atty. David Campbell said.

“I believe his conduct is murder,” Campbell said. “That is why we have been pursuing this so diligently.”

Grassano was arrested after Saravia was fatally injured by jagged glass from a plate-glass window he broke while attempting to burglarize a Reseda television repair shop, police said.

Saravia’s neck was slashed by the glass and he died shortly after Grassano dropped him off at a nearby hospital, police said.

Investigators said the boy had broken into the shop at Grassano’s direction. For months, at least four boys including Saravia drove around Reseda with Grassano committing thefts and break-ins to get money for drugs, investigators said. The boys told police that Grassano always remained in the car while they committed the crimes.

Police likened Grassano to Fagin, the character in Charles Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist” who recruited young boys to steal for him.

After Saravia’s death, prosecutors charged Grassano with murder under legal theories that he was responsible for the boy’s actions and that his months-long pattern of encouraging Saravia to commit crimes ultimately led to the death.

But the murder charge was dismissed by Van Nuys Municipal Judge Robert L. Swasey after a preliminary hearing on the case and then was rejected again by Ashmann when the district attorney refiled the charge.

Grassano’s attorney, Irwin Pransky, has contended that trying his client for murder would be a “terrible injustice” because he had no intention of hurting Saravia and had tried to save him by taking him to the hospital.

The judges’ rejection of the murder charge is under appeal and it may be six months to a year before the state’s 2nd District Court of Appeal issues a ruling, Campbell said.

Meanwhile, Campbell said, he had to proceed with the child endangerment and burglary charges against Grassano--allowing Grassano to enter the guilty plea--because of his right to a speedy trial.

There was no plea agreement in the case and Grassano could have faced up to six years and eight months in prison, Campbell said.