Prosecution of Templeton robbery case sparks feud

November 18, 2016

As the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes a Templeton home invasion robbery case, disputes are arising over which defendants should receive which plea deals. A teen accused of beating two other teens over the head with a baseball bat is currently in line to receive the most lenient sentence, so long as he accepts a request made by prosecutors that he testify in court against the other suspects.

In July, a group of five teens showed up at a sleepover party held at a rural Templeton home where mostly Mission Prep students were gathered. The teens left the party and returned around 3 a.m. armed with guns and a baseball bat and wearing bandanas over their faces.

When the alleged robbers returned, most of the partygoers were sleeping. The defendants allegedly fired shots into the air and forced the partygoers to go outside and lie on the grass.

Some of the teens were in their pajamas at the time, and some had no shirts on. Two of the partygoers were reportedly beaten over the head with a bat.

The alleged robbers reportedly turned on the sprinklers and terrorized the teens at the party for about an hour, before robbing them of wallets, phones and even a couple vehicles.

Shortly following the robbery, sheriff’s deputies arrested Donovan James Alford, 19, of Templeton; Albert Charles Heinicke, Jr., 18, of Avila Beach; 16-year-old Marshal Ryan Kaplan; and Levi Cody Mattson and Wyatt Douglas Warnars, both 17.

Prosecutors have opted to offer Heinicke the opportunity to testify against his co-defendants. The offer would reduce Heinicke’s proposed sentence from 15 years to eight years. The district attorney’s office says it is affording the opportunity to Heinicke because he was armed with a bat, rather than a gun.

Several of the victims’ parents are angry over that decision. They say Heinicke was one of the most violent robbers. Some parents are also arguing over whether the proposed sentences for the defendants are too stiff or too lenient.

California victim law requires prosecutors to inform victims when plea deals are offered to defendants in their cases. SLO County prosecutors have indicated some of the parents in the Templeton case are taking advantage of that privilege in attempt to influence decisions about the plea deals.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran said there is additional confusion over the case because the victims did not provide matching stories. There were more than 20 kids at the party, and they provided vastly different stories about what happened, Gran said.

Currently, prosecutors are offering Alvord a 14-year, 4-month sentence; Mattson a 14-year, 8-month sentence; Warnars a 19-year sentence; and Kaplan a 26-year sentence. Kaplan is facing the stiffest sentence even though he is the youngest of the defendants. [Tribune]

However, the recent passage of Proposition 57 could throw a twist into the case. Prop. 57, the early release for “non-violent” felons measure, gives judges, rather than prosecutors, the power to decide whether or not to try minors as adults.

Judge John Trice will rule next month whether Prop. 57 will be applied retroactively in the Templeton robbery case. If the new law is applied retroactively, there is a chance, Mattson, Warnars and Kaplan could evade being tried as adults and thus receive lighter sentences.