One of two Tijuana police officers charged with trying to steal $1 million from a Chula Vista home pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to commit robbery and faces two years in state prison.
Marco Quijas-Castillo, 27, is slated to be sentenced Aug. 25 for his role in the break-in plot, which occurred sometime between Nov. 14 and Jan. 31, according to the criminal complaint.
A fellow officer, Jesus Estrada Torres, remains in custody on conspiracy charges. Torres, 35, and four other co-defendants are being held on $1 million bail and are due back in court next month.
Prosecutors said the men believed there would be $1 million in cash to steal from the residence, though it's unclear what prompted that belief.
The complaint alleges Castillo and Torres crossed into the United States from Mexico with Igancio Martinez-Cruz, 33, and met up in Chula Vista with the other defendants, who traveled from San Bernardino County.
Castillo and Torres "provided counter-surveillance" at a Kohl's store in Chula Vista, while the other four men met with an undercover agent, according to the complaint. The document does not disclose what was allegedly discussed between the defendants and the agent.
Castillo and Torres also provided surveillance at the Chula Vista residence while Nicholas Jeremiah Shaw, 25, walked up to the house, and "entered a code into a lockbox containing a key to enter the house," the complaint alleges.
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County jail records indicate all six defendants were booked into jail on Jan. 31.
