Dog Walker Pleads Not Guilty To Palos Verdes Burglary

PALOS VERDES, CA – A dog walker in Palos Verdes pleaded not guilty today after being ordered to stand trial for burglary, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced. On Sept. 14, Nephi Henderson, 36, of Hermosa Beach was held to answer to two counts of first-degree residential burglary.

The case also charges alleged accomplice Zulma Lourdes Farias, 19, of Hermosa Beach with one count of first-degree residential burglary. Both defendants were arraigned today and are scheduled to return for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 25 in Department G of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Torrance Branch.

According to evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, Henderson was given a key to a family's home so he could walk their dog. The defendant allegedly used that key to break into the family's house and burglarize it along with Farias, prosecutors said. If convicted as charged, Henderson faces a possible maximum sentence of more than seven years in state prison. Farias faces six years in prison.

The case remains under investigation by the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

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