By Leslie Acevedo and Brinda Kalita
VENTURA, CA- A man in Ventura County Superior Court Monday charged with second-degree felony burglary was nothing if not polite.
The hearing began for Victor Franco with Judge Bryce A. Young asking the accused if he was okay with waiving his rights to have a trial by jury.
The accused responded with a simple, “Sure.”
Next, Judge Young asked the accused if he was being forced or coerced by someone to waive his rights to a jury trial.
The accused laughed and responded with a, “No.”
Judge Young then asked if the accused was aware of the circumstances of waiving his rights. In response, the accused answered, “I don’t wanna waste the court’s time.”
Judge Young reassured Franco he was not wasting their time and it was the accused’s decision to waive their rights to a jury trial.
However, the accused insisted that he was all right with waiving his rights to a jury trial.
The accused then pleaded guilty to his charge of second-degree burglary. However, the accused did not waive appeal rights.
Judge Young then asked Franco some clarifying questions about the case at hand.
He first asked the accused about his living situation. The accused revealed to Judge Young that his biological brother lived at that Thousand Oaks address captured in photos and that his brother was his main source of income.
In response, Judge Young stated that they will work out the newly discovered conflict of interest in trial.
Additionally, other statements were made by the accused throughout the hearing demonstrating the accused’s familiarity with the criminal justice system, including having served a prison sentence before.
The next hearing for this case will be on Oct. 31.
