LOS ANGELES (CN) — The man who broke into LA Mayor Karen Bass’s home in April pleaded guilty to one felony count of vandalism on Wednesday.
Ephraim Hunter’s three-year state prison sentence will be suspended as long as the 29-year-old complies with various conditions. Hunter will be on probation for two years and must pay restitution of $15,777.04 for the damage he caused to mayor’s home.
“This is your second chance, Mr. Hunter,” Superior Court Judge Armenui Ashvanian said at a hearing Wednesday. “This is the last chance you’re getting.”
Ashvanian ordered Hunter to stay 100 yards away from City Hall, the Getty House, Mayor Bass and two of her family members.
As conditions of his release, Hunter must enroll in an in-patient treatment center for mental illness and drug addiction and stay there for at least three months. After he completes that program, he must live at a halfway house or bridge home for six-to-nine months.
Should he violate any of his release conditions, he will spend three years in state prison.
Hunter remained in jail Wednesday, pending the start of his drug treatment program.
“Mr. Hunter is pleased with the resolution,” said Hunter’s public defender, Howard Stern, after the hearing. “He’s looking forward to working hard in recovery and turning his life around and becoming a success story.”
Prosecutors agreed to drop the more serious charge of residential burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Chung told the judge the charge was being dropped after a video emerged showing Hunter shortly before the break-in.
“The defendant was seen acting irrationally, appearing to run and hide away from imaginary individuals,” Chung said. The footage indicated that Hunter’s mental state was not consistent with the charge of first-degree residential burglary, which states that defendant must have the intent to steal something.
Hunter’s mother told the Daily Mail her son was having a “mental breakdown” at the time of the break-in and thought he’d be safe inside the Getty house, the official residence for every LA mayor.
Shortly after the charges were filed, District Attorney George Gascon said investigators believed Hunter was “targeting the mayor,” adding, “There were actions while he was inside the property that are consistent with the fact that he knew that this was the mayor’s home, and that he was looking for her.”
Hunter had one prior conviction for assault with deadly weapon in Massachusetts in 2015, a strike offense.