Man gets prison term in armed break-in case
One of the three men who broke into a home and robbed a woman at gunpoint was sentenced to a combined 7-1/2 years in prison Thursday in Yuma County Superior Court.
Christian Strangfeld, who pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault in a plea agreement with prosecutors last month, received a five-year prison sentence with credit for time served.
He also received a 2-1/2 year prison sentence for an unrelated burglary charge, which he pleaded guilty to in the same plea agreement.
Superior Court Judge Roger Nelson ordered that both sentences be served concurrently, meaning that Strangfeld would serve the longest of the two sentences.
Although he did not order it be paid yet, Nelson also retained jurisdiction over the matter of $15,000 in restitution being claimed in both cases.
Victims in both cases were present for the sentencing and they both addressed the court when given the opportunity to speak.
The woman whose home was broken into and robbed at gunpoint said that while she forgave Strangfeld, she is still struggling mentally and physically with what happened.
“Each morning when I wake up I have to remind myself that my attackers can’t harm me anymore,” she said. “They fed me tranquilizers and alcohol and left me for dead.”
She added that she once considered Strangfeld a friend.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 6:02 a.m. on June 18, deputies responded to a report of an armed robbery in the 13100 block of East 41st Lane in the Foothills.
When deputies arrived on scene, they were informed by the victim that one or more of the suspects entered the residence and demanded some of her property.
The suspects reportedly displayed firearms during the incident and left the residence after being given the property, which included the keys to her two-door Infinity convertible and an Arctic Cat ATV.
According to court records, although Stangfeld had returned to Yuma to turn himself in, he had initially fled to California before being identified as a suspect.
Additionally, the value of the property that had been stolen was more than $20,000 and the victim had been injured and tied up.
Some of the victim’s property was located, as well as the firearms that were used in the crime, when search warrants were served in relation to the case.