Defendant Seeks to Change Guilty Plea in Rape Case

A month after pleading guilty to raping two Thousand Oaks women, a twice-deported illegal immigrant has told authorities that he now wants to change his plea.

Facing 50 years to life in prison, Jose Zavala refused to proceed with his scheduled sentencing hearing Monday and a new attorney was appointed to his case.

Defense lawyer Joel Steinfeld told reporters that he has been assigned for a limited purpose: determining whether Zavala has a legal basis on which to withdraw his plea.

“It is extremely hard to make a successful motion to change plea,” Steinfeld said, explaining that he had not spoken with Zavala about why he wants to reverse his earlier decision.

“I think it’s because he doesn’t like the possible prison time,” Steinfeld said.

Zavala, 22, could spend the rest of his days in prison after pleading guilty last month to two rape and three burglary charges stemming from a string of break-ins earlier this year in Thousand Oaks.

Zavala had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but entered a guilty plea Oct. 2, shortly before his trial was set to begin.

He was supposed to be sentenced by Municipal Judge Herbert Curtis on Monday afternoon, but the hearing was postponed until Dec. 3.

If unable to reverse his plea, Zavala would probably be incarcerated by the California Department of Corrections instead of being sent to a prison in his native Mexico, Steinfeld said.

Although the United States and Mexico have a treaty that allows Mexican citizens convicted here to serve criminal sentences in Mexico, the agreement does not apply to life prison terms or death sentences, Steinfeld said.

“If he goes to prison,” the lawyer said, “it will be here.”

Authorities formally deported Zavala in 1994 after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.

He returned to the United States, only to be deported in December 1996 after his arrest in a drug possession case.

On Feb. 22, he was once again arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of a 44-year-old Thousand Oaks woman and attempted to rape her.

When the woman fought back and her cries alerted family members, the assailant fled by jumping though a glass window. Police followed a trail of blood and found Zavala hiding under a car, they said.

Authorities believe Zavala is the same man who raped two Thousand Oaks women, ages 64 and 57, in their homes earlier this year. They suspect he targeted older women living alone near his neighborhood.