Three-Time Loser Gets Life in Cookie...

A homeless parolee convicted for breaking into a Santa Ana restaurant and stealing four cookies was sentenced to life in prison Friday after the judge said she had no choice under the state’s “three strikes” law.

Kevin Thomas Weber, 32, was found guilty last month of second-degree burglary, a third felony conviction that made him eligible for the mandatory 25-year minimum term. Weber must serve at least 26 years because of a prior prison term.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jean Rheinheimer acknowledged the three-strikes law was “a harsh one” but left her no alternative. Weber had previously been convicted of burglary and assault with a deadly weapon.

“The voters of this state, the legislation of this state, has told the judges of this state, ‘Here’s the law, judge.’ And the court will abide by the law,” Rheinheimer said.

Weber, who said he was drunk at the time of the May 14 burglary at Eric’s Gazebo Restaurant, was caught carrying the chocolate-chip cookies and an embossing stamp. In a probation report, Weber called the likelihood of the sentence “outrageous,” and his cousin assailed the law outside court.

“It’s ridiculous,” said his cousin, Shelly Weber. “He left with cookies and he’s getting 25 to life for this. He does silly things, stupid things. . . . Maybe he went in there for more food than cookies, but I doubt if he went in there for money.”

Rheinheimer refused to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor that would have carried a lighter sentence. She sided with prosecutors, who said Weber planned and carried out the burglary by climbing a ladder and crawling through air ducts on Mother’s Day, the restaurant’s busiest day.

The restaurant’s safe held receipts from the entire weekend, but Weber set off a motion alarm after stuffing the cookies in his pockets, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Hess. Weber was caught hiding on the roof.

“This is a good third-strike case. . . . A commercial burglary definitely fits in the legislative intent,” Hess said after the sentencing.

The judge agreed.

“The court does not consider this case a case about the theft of four cookies,” Rheinheimer said during the hearing. “No matter how it may be portrayed, what this case and what this sentencing will involve will be a bona fide felonious burglary.”

Weber’s attorney assailed the sentence as an “abdication,” saying the judge should have reduced the conviction to avoid the life term. Deputy Public Defender Deborah Barnum said some killers are eligible for parole in less time than Weber will be.

“When you’ve got a dead body, you don’t mind giving somebody 25 years to life,” Barnum said. “But when you’ve got four mummified cookies, it’s ridiculous. . . . If the public wants to put him up for the rest of his life--go for it.”