‘Panty Bandit’ Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

A man convicted of breaking into the homes of 13 teenage girls and stealing their underwear was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Luis Castellanos, 21, of Montebello, who took underwear from the homes of young members of a soccer team he once coached, was unrepentant to the end.

“He still denies the offense,” said his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Grady Russell. “The case is bizarre, to say the least. The easiest thing to do is to say he had a fetish. But the questions about what may or may not have driven him to do this are unanswered. He may know, but it’s a mystery as to whether he’ll ever reveal it to anyone.”

Castellanos had a fetish that could pose a danger to society, according to a psychiatric report prepared by the Department of Corrections for the sentencing. The report concluded that Castellanos is likely to resist treatment, Russell said.

A former Glendale Community College student, Castellanos was convicted in December of 13 counts of residential burglary and three counts of receiving stolen property stemming from a spate of lingerie thefts in 1993 and ’94.

Castellanos admitted to a string of burglaries at the homes of young women around Glendale, authorities said. Twenty victims whose underwear was recovered by police from Castellanos’ apartment testified at his trial.

Castellanos was sentenced by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas W. Stoever without the possibility of parole. But considering the time he has spent in custody and with reduced time for good behavior, Castellanos could serve as little as 5 1/2 years in prison, Russell said.

“I felt that he should have at least been given a chance at probation,” Russell said. “He never harmed anyone. There were never any allegations of any violence or property damage. Most of these people never even knew that he had been in their homes.”

Russell described Castellanos, known to Glendale police as the “panty bandit,” as “quiet, soft-spoken and stoic.”

Most of the victims were 15 or 16 years old and members of an American Youth Soccer Organization team that he formerly coached. One was a former classmate and another was an instructor at Glendale Community College, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Rash.

Castellanos was arrested in April 1994 after the classmate came home during one of the break-ins and saw him standing in her living room, according to police reports.

Castellanos told a Glendale police officer after his arrest that the burglary was not the first and that he had broken into numerous girls’ homes and stole their underwear for a “memento,” according to police reports.

In his Montebello home, police found a list that included the names and addresses of more than 20 girls and a column called “Underwear Mission,” indicating whether each garment was taken from its location.

A large plastic bag containing underwear, including some that were labeled with the owner’s names, was also found, according to police reports. Photographs of the girls were also taken from several homes.

The list of charges against Castellanos grew as police discovered more victims.

Rash said she believes the sentence is not overly harsh.

“The fact that he committed so many burglaries, without the victims even knowing he had been in and out of their homes, and the fact that he stole the items he did, takes this case out of the norm and puts it in another category,” Rash said.