Sonora Woman Sentenced Enhanced Due To Three Strike Law
Sonora, CA – A Sonora woman convicted of residential burglary while house-sitting for an elderly victim saw her sentence increase due to California’s “Three Strike Law.”
On June 21st, Sonora resident Cheryl “Jill” Delaney-Rizzo was sentenced to 12 years plus 25 years to life in state prison after a jury found her guilty of first-degree residential burglary and grand theft of an elder. Her sentence was enhanced due to Delaney-Rizzo’s prior record and an enhancement that the victim in the case was over 65.
Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke reports the crimes occurred in May 2022, when a friend, the victim, was going out of town and asked Delaney-Rizzo to house-sit. She and her boyfriend had limited access to the main home on the property. However, when the victim returned, she found her house had been rifled through. Missing were multiple items, including gold coins, jewelry, and a speaker, all totaling about $10,000.
During the trial, evidence showed that Delaney-Rizzo texted a witness before trial to influence his testimony, according to prosecutors. It was also revealed that the defendant had attempted to cash fraudulent checks from the victim’s bank account ten years earlier. Jenecke noted that because the victim did not lose any money, she chose not to press charges and to forgive Delaney-Rizzo.
Delaney-Rizzo had another prior strike for intimidating a witness and a prior strike for first-degree residential burglary, qualifying her under the “Three Strikes Law.” The latter counted as her third strike, qualifying her for 25 years to life for that count, advised Jenecke.
The victim also gave a powerful impact statement at the sentencing hearing, shared by Jenecke, stating that the victim told the court she would not let Delaney-Rizzo take away her ability to trust others. At the sentencing, Judge Laura L. Krieg remarked that the current convictions demonstrated a “disturbing trend” of taking advantage of the most vulnerable “over and over and over again.”
