Man pleads guilty and gets 6 months in jail for Laguna Beach jewelry thefts

A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to a felony grand theft charge and was immediately sentenced to about six months in jail for his role in jewelry thefts from four Laguna Beach businesses last summer.

Alexander Kenneth Joe Aguirre also was sentenced to three years’ formal probation.

A felony second-degree burglary charge was dropped as part of a deal with prosecutors, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Laguna Beach police launched an investigation into the burglaries July 26, when employees reported that more than $200,000 in merchandise had been stolen from four businesses at the Shops at the Cliffs center on South Coast Highway, authorities said.

Surveillance video from the shopping center showed two well-dressed men leaving the scene.

Detectives identified one of them through DNA on a tool used in the burglaries, police said.

Edward Torrison of Oceanside was arrested in September and pleaded guilty a month later to four counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of grand theft and one count of receiving stolen property. He also admitted to a sentencing enhancement allegation of causing property damage in excess of $65,000, according to court records. He was sentenced to 32 months in state prison.

Based on interviews and cellphone records, Laguna Beach detectives identified Aguirre as the second suspect and arrested him Feb. 28 in Oceanside, police said.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN