Man gets 7 to 9 years for burglaries last fall
By Sarah A. Reese, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
July 31, 2010
A man who’s been in jail since October pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing property from an apartment and a pickup truck last fall and was sentenced to seven to nine years in prison.
Charles Comer, 42, struck a plea deal with prosecutors after his fingerprints came back as a match with fingerprints taken from a jewelry box inside the apartment, prosecutor Brian Hultman said during a hearing in 9th District Court. In exchange for Comer’s guilty pleas to two felony burglary counts, prosecutors dismissed three other felony charges related to the burglaries and three misdemeanor charges.
Comer has four felonies in his past, including two felony burglaries, Hultman said. He didn’t seek consecutive sentences because he wanted to give Comer credit for pleading guilty, he said.
Comer’s court-appointed attorney, Rob Stepans, said Comer had hoped Stepans could do more for him and that Comer thought the sentence might have been too long.
The Wyoming State Hospital determined Comer was fit to stand trial but he had been drinking and taking illegal drugs before his arrest, Stepans said. He asked Judge Timothy C. Day to recommend that Comer receive substance abuse treatment while he’s in prison.
Police responded to a call Oct. 6 about a man stealing quarters from a coin machine in the Virginian Laundromat. Police linked Comer to the theft through a room key that was found in the area, court records say.
Police observing the room watched Comer come out of it and place a bundled-up blanket behind the front passenger-side wheel of a truck, records say. An investigation revealed that the bundle contained watches and other jewelry taken from the apartment on West Broadway and a radar detector and XM radio taken from the truck.
Comer apologized to authorities and said the crimes wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t gotten involved with people who were drinking and using cocaine.
The other people involved were never apprehended, he said.
Comer also asked Day for leniency because his mother recently was diagnosed with lung cancer. Day told him he could attempt to make arrangements with the Wyoming Department of Corrections to see his mother.
The judge also recommended treatment and waived Comer’s public defender and court fees.
