Sun City Burglar suspect receives three life terms

Although Anthony Wright escaped conviction as the "Sun City burglar" -- despite prosecutors' claims that he was the one who broke into perhaps 100 homes -- he didn't escape punishment for his life of crime.

District Judge John McGroarty on Tuesday declared Wright to be a habitual criminal and sentenced him to three consecutive life prison terms with parole only a possibility once he has served 30 years.

He will be 64 years old when eligible for release.

Wright was convicted in August of six felony counts and two misdemeanors for possessing property stolen from some of the Sun City victims, but the jury was hung on 26 burglary and grand larceny charges alleging he was the actual thief.

But because of Wright's six theft-related felony convictions in California that preceded his Las Vegas arrest, there was the need under Nevada law for only one additional felony conviction to warrant a declaration that he is an habitual criminal.

Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot had urged the judge to imprison Wright for life with no chance for parole to prevent him from continuing his life as a career criminal.

Wright pleaded with the judge for leniency, noting that no one was ever injured in the spree that covered an 18-month period.

McGroarty, however, chose to follow the recommendation of the state Parole and Probation Department for the three consecutive life prison terms.

Koot has said his office will retry Wright on the 26 burglary and larceny counts in hopes another jury will see things differently. A Jan. 31 retrial already has been scheduled. Wright also is facing a Nov. 17 trial on seven counts of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, stemming from the discovery of seven guns during a search of his house after his arrest in March. That search also turned up some of the stolen Sun City property.

Although the jury this week couldn't agree if he is the Sun City Burglar, that is where he was caught in March by a swarm of Metro Police officers who were targeting a serial break-in artist

The burglary spree began in October 1997 and continued unabated despite the efforts of police, who identified the criminal's pattern of hitting homes for three or four nights in a row and then taking a break.

In March, after the first strike in a new series of burglaries, Metro flooded the area in Summerlin with officers. When a burglar alarm had sounded, the officers surrounded the area and found Wright's hiding place under a bush.

Testimony at his trial indicated he attempted to escape and it took six officers to subdue him.

Authorities noted that the rash of similarly executed thefts in the retirement area ceased with Wright's apprehension.

At trial Koot presented evidence that Wright lived a lavish life without the benefit of a job.

Defense attorney Alzora Jackson argued that Wright was elsewhere when some burglaries occurred and he could just as easily have been a fence who sells stolen property rather than the actual burglar.

That argument was enough to result in the hung jury on a majority of charges, but it couldn't prevent the punishment handed down Tuesday.

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