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November 3, 2009

Home invaders get prison time

Mark Millican

Two metro Atlanta men are serving lengthy prison sentences stemming from a home invasion in Chatsworth in May, court officials said.

Jose Antonio Castro-Trejo, 22, of Marietta, and Jose Robles, 28, of Douglasville, each pleaded guilty in Murray County Superior Court to two counts of robbery. They were sentenced by Judge Jack Partain to 20 years on each count, but to be served concurrently, meaning both counts are reduced to one 20-year sentence.

“They will each serve 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 10 years’ banishment from the (Murray-Whitfield) judicial circuit,” said District Attorney Kermit McManus. “The banishment part of the sentence is instead of probation since they are not U.S. citizens and will be deported once they get out of prison.”

A male resident at the home on Springfield Road told deputies the two men came to his door and asked for water since their car was overheating. He went to the kitchen to get the water and when he turned around one of the men “pulled a gun” and ordered the resident and his wife to get on the floor, according to an incident report. The phone cord was cut and the couple were tied up.

A female came to the residence and noticed something was wrong and attempted to call 911. She was ordered inside by one of the men and tied up. The men took two cell phones, $210 in cash and a car key. A 2-year-old child was also at the residence.

Castro-Trejo was arrested the next morning in Chatsworth and Robles was picked up three weeks later in Marietta.

Public defender Scott Ray represented both men and noted they were allowed to plead to the lesser charge of robbery rather than armed robbery.

“That certainly lessened the severity of (the sentence),” he said. “We had to give some and the state gave some, too — I felt like we met in the middle, and I felt like they got an appropriate sentence.”

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