Man Pleads Not Guilty to Breaking into Sandra Bullock's House as She Hid in Closet

A La Crescenta man accused of breaking into the home of actress Sandra Bullock, who locked herself into a bedroom closet until police arrived, pleaded not guilty today to more than two dozen charges.

Joshua James Corbett, 39, is charged with one count each of stalking and first-degree burglary; eight counts of possession of a machine gun; three counts of possession of an assault weapon; 10 counts of possession of a destructive device; two counts of machine gun conversion; and one count of manufacturing an assault rifle.

Superior Court Judge Terry Bork ruled last month there was enough evidence for Corbett to proceed to trial. A tentative trial date has been set for June 8.

A Los Angeles police officer testified during last month’s preliminary hearing that when Corbett was arrested at Bullock’s home on June 8, 2014, he was carrying photos of the actress and a notebook containing a letter to her. Detectives described an arsenal of weapons they said were discovered in the defendant’s residence after Los Angeles police searched the converted garage he was apparently living in. However, he is not charged with having a weapon with him at the time of the pre-dawn break-in at Bullock’s West Los Angeles home.

Corbett, who is accused of climbing a fence to get onto the Oscar winner’s property about 5 a.m., faces more than 20 years in state prison if convicted as charged.

The 911 call placed by a panicked Bullock from a bedroom closet as a stranger prowled her house was played in court during the preliminary hearing.

“I’m locked in my closet,” Bullock told the police operator. “I have a safe door in my bedroom, and I’ve locked it, and I’m locked in the closet right now.”

Bullock described the intruder as wearing a “dark sweatshirt and dark pants, going up the stairs to my attic” before telling the dispatcher she hears someone “banging on the door” to her bedroom.

The police operator told the shaken actress that officers are responding “with lights and sirens.”

Minutes later, Bullock was told the stranger was in custody, but was advised not to come out of the closet in case there’s a “crossfire situation.”

Once Bullock verified that police were outside her bedroom door, she was told to open the door.

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City News Service

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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