A Green River man accused of breaking into another man’s home and cleaning his kitchen has agreed to spend between eight and 12 years in prison.
Delroy Reid Trujillo, who turns 51 this year, is also accused of stealing several rifles, a pistol, an electric guitar, multiple boxes of ammunition, crossbows, a bottle of Glenlivet scotch and a DeWalt angle grinder from the home in Green River.
Trujillo signed a plea agreement Tuesday, saying he would give a “no contest” plea to the charge of aggravated burglary in exchange for having extra penalties associated with being a habitual criminal dropped.
The agreement outlines sentencing terms of between eight and 12 years in prison, and specifies that Trujillo will undergo “intensive treatment” while incarcerated.
Trujillo is set to change his plea March 20 in Sweetwater District Court.
Weird Note, Clean Kitchen
According to an evidentiary affidavit filed last year, Trujillo is believed to have broken into a stranger’s home June 25, 2023, leaving behind a suspicious note that said, “30 Days 1 B Cool.”
The resident was uneasy. He hadn’t locked the door that day.
Nothing was gone and no one was home, so the man stayed at a friend’s house that night, locked the door and left, says the affidavit.
The next day he reportedly found his door closed, but unlocked. A large stuffed giraffe that usually sat in one of the rooms now greeted him from just inside the door. His things were out of place. A cooked, half-eaten pizza sat on his oven near a mini sledgehammer that did not belong on the kitchen counter.
And the kitchen was cleaner than usual, the document says.
Lenling found a new note, which reportedly read: “Forcloser $241,000.00 07/25 Paid.”
Gone
The man also found his electric guitar gone, along with a crossbow, a compound bow, the Glenlivet scotch and three rifles.
His bedding was tossed into the corner of the room, he later told police.
Outside, the resident found a wallet that had been left behind containing identification cards belonging to Trujillo, says the affidavit.
While Green River Police Sgt. Gary Bach was compiling this information, he got called back to the house on a report that Trujillo was there arguing with the man and his friends.
Bach drove back to the home and separated everyone, then told Trujillo to have a talk with him.
Trujillo reportedly said his brother had bought the home, so he was just eating a pizza there and cleaning it up.
The resident called his parents, who own the house, and they said they had not sold the home to anyone, says the affidavit.
Trujillo later said he’d assumed his brother had bought the home, so he decided to go and clean it out.
A Treasure Hunt
On June 27, Trujillo called Bach and said he wasn’t alone during the break-in, and his accomplice — whose name he refused to share — may have stashed the stolen loot somewhere, the document says.
The affidavit says Trujillo directed Bach where to look for the stolen items – and sent Bach back to Lenling’s home. At Trujillo’s direction, Bach reportedly found the missing items all together in a room, on a couch, tucked under a green tarp.
The .22-caliber rifle was still missing.
Bach went to Trujillo’s home and asked about it.
Trujillo said he’d make a call, adding the rifle was probably in a cardboard box in a dumpster “or something,” the affidavit says.
About one hour and 20 minutes later, Trujillo allegedly called and said the rifle “may or may not” be at the Chamber of Commerce behind an orange piece of equipment.
Trujillo asked Bach if they “were good,” adding he shouldn’t be in trouble since all the items were recovered, the document says.
Bach found the rifle at the Chamber of Commerce behind an orange piece of equipment in a long, rectangular cardboard box, reportedly.
A Felony Wrapped In A Felony
The crime of aggravated burglary consists of breaking into a structure with the intent to commit a felony inside it.
In Wyoming, stealing a gun is a felony regardless of its value.
Normally, an aggravated burglary conviction is punishable by between five and 25 years in prison.
Had he not accepted the plea agreement, Trujillo could have faced an enhanced term of between 10 and 50 years in prison for being a habitual criminal offender with two prior felony convictions, including one violent in nature.
Those are a 2007 aggravated assault conviction and a 2016 felony DUI conviction (for having at least four DUIs).
Get Him Back In Here
Trujillo had a hard time behaving while released on bond, allegedly, and was re-arrested at least twice, his court file indicates.
After one of the arrests, the judge increased his bond from a surety deal to a $10,000 cash-only bond.
Trujillo’s 84-year-old mother posted the $10,000 for him to free him from jail during his prosecution.
When authorities alleged another bond violation and had Trujillo arrested in February, the judge increased Trujillo’s bond to $110,000 cash-only. That represents $10,000 already posted and another $100,000, says the court file.
After her son’s arrest, Trujillo’s mother wrote to the court asking if she could receive her bond money back. She said she was at the cemetery with Trujillo when he was arrested, and she cooperated with authorities; and didn’t realize there was another warrant for her son.
“I’ll be 85 years old in April and live on a small, fixed income,” she wrote, adding that she lives alone, has a dwindling support system and had put up the bond using “most of all my savings and emergency fund.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
