Career Criminal to Stand Trial in $12 Store Theft
A career criminal from Ventura County who served time in prison for rape and shooting a police officer will stand trial on suspicion of stealing $12 worth of goods from a grocery store and could receive a life sentence, officials said Wednesday.
Ronald Steven Herrera, 56, was ordered held over for trial on charges of commercial burglary and petty theft during a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, officials said. Because this would be his third felony conviction, Herrera faces life in prison.
Herrera, formerly of Santa Paula, is accused of stealing a bottle of wine, breath spray and lip balm from a Vons in Carpinteria on Jan. 5. He has pleaded not guilty and remains held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
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