Disdainful Burglar To The Stars Sentenced To Prison

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 22-year-old Los Angeles man who admitted to burglarizing singer Rihanna and former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was sentenced Thursday to just over nine years in state prison.

Tyress Williams is among 31 people indicted in connection with a series of high-profile burglaries in 2019, and he's the 23rd to reach a deal. The burglaries, scattered over the course of months from the San Fernando Valley to Beverly Hills, targeted professional athletes on the road, celebrities on tour as well as elderly and Asian victims.

Williams, who also plead to two other burglaries, told investigators Puig's residence was targeted because he was "stupid" and was "putting out basically his activities on social media," a police detective testified.

His attorney argued that despite his difficult childhood, Williams is a prolific poet with redeeming qualities.

"He's done some bad things. He's done some really good things as well," Williams' attorney, Jonathan Mandel, told Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus last month, noting that his client had been in at least 40 foster homes but had still done well in school and written "several beautiful poems."

Williams was ordered to spend nine years and four months behind bars. He has been set to go on trial before pleading no contest Sept. 29 to two counts of first-degree residential burglary involving a Sept. 25, 2018, break-in at a house belonging to Rihanna and a burglary a week earlier at Puig's Encino home.

He also pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree burglary with a person present involving an Aug. 29, 2018, break-in at a home in Granada Hills, and one count of second-degree commercial burglary involving a Beverly Hills business on Sept. 12, 2018.

At a December 2018 hearing before the series of grand jury indictments were returned, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Mel Vergara testified that Williams admitted in a September 2018 interview that he was involved in the burglaries at the two celebrities' houses.

Deputy District Attorney Heather Steggell noted that Williams was 19 at the time of the crimes and had no prior criminal record.

Williams has remained behind bars since his Sept. 28, 2018, arrest by the LAPD's Metropolitan Division, jail records show.

His plea marks the latest from 23 defendants charged in the grand jury indictments -- all of whom have been sentenced to state prison.

The first defendant to go on trial, Ron Simmons, was sentenced to a potential life prison term after being convicted in 2019 of charges including torture, mayhem, conspiracy, residential robbery and first-degree burglary with a person present.

Six other people are still awaiting trial. The case against one other man was dismissed, court records show.

Investigators outlined the inner workings of a vast gang conspiracy to burglarize celebrities and athletes across Los Angeles in a series of indictments.

The crew was also accused of elder abuse and torture in a violent string of robberies that often targeted elderly Asian residents. In all, the crew is accused of 69 burglaries or robberies.

The grand jury indictments names 31 alleged gang members accusing them of 93 total felonies ranging from home invasion robbery, to elder abuse and torture. Two-thirds of the defendants pleaded not guilty Monday to participating in a burglary ring targeting elderly and Asian victims.

Eight other cases against some of the defendants -- including for allegedly burglarizing the homes of Los Angeles-area celebrities and athletes, including singer Rihanna, then-Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods -- are superseded by the indictments. The burglaries spanned Los Angeles County including victims in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys as well as Hollywood and the Westside..

Detectives originally thought the burglaries targeting actors, producers musicians and professional athletes were set up at random but as more and more cases piled up, investigators later discovered the homes were selected based on social media posting and tour and travel schedules.

The burglaries followed a pattern called "flocking," whereby suspects flock to celebrities' neighborhoods, dressing in nice clothes and driving luxury vehicles to avoid suspicion as they search for targets. They would then change into casual clothing, including hoodies, and use a larger vehicle to haul away stolen items.

One suspect would typically knock or ring a doorbell to check if anyone was home before breaking into a residence, according to police.

The indictments reveal that rappers A$AP Rocky and Chief Keef were also burglarized.

Despite their losses, the celebrity victims were the lucky ones, according to investogators.

While the alleged crimes against celebrity victims were designed to take place when no one was at home, prosecutors said the ring sometimes attacked other victims.

According to two of the indictments, the elder abuse involved 72 and 76 year-old men who suffered great bodily injury. Some of the indictments remained sealed because the defendants have not been arrested or arraigned.

SEE ALSO:

• Celebrity Burglary Ring Had A-List Hit List: LAPD
• Inner Workings of Alleged Celebrity Theft Ring Outlined
• Rapper Pop Smoke Killed In Hollywood Hills Home-Invasion
• Hillary Duff Is LA's Latest Celebrity Burglary Victim
• Alanis Morissette's Brentwood Home Burglarized
• Another Celebrity Robbed In LA: Rapper A$AP Rocky's Home Is Latest Target
• LA Athletes Targeted For Burglary: Lakers Star Nick Young Is Latest Victim
• Laker Legend Derek Fisher's Tarzana Home Burglarized: $300,000 in Jewelry Taken
• Dodgers Star Yasiel Puig's Sherman Oaks Home Burglarized During Spring Training
• Nicki Minaj's Home in Hollywood Hills Burglarized
• Man Accused of Burglarizing Miley Cyrus' Toluca Lake Home
• Mariah Carey Burglarized: $50,000 In Purses And Sunglasses

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City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.