A Penchant for Burglaries

Thompson’s “difficulty” centered on his seeming penchant for burglaries. The 33-year-old Long Beach man was convicted in April of breaking into a commercial building in Carson with an accomplice and taking an estimated $4,000 worth of TVs, VCRs and other video equipment. It was Thompson’s third burglary conviction in a year, after others for spousal abuse, drugs and theft. He told a probation officer that he had used methamphetamine for years and was being supported by his girlfriend, who collected welfare for herself and her two children.

The judge gave him a 180-day jail sentence for the burglary, but he was put on work release by the Sheriff’s Department and soon skipped out. He was rearrested recently on outstanding charges, however, and is now back in County Jail.