Valley Springs Man Headed To Prison

Valley Springs, CA — A man was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home and attacking her.

The Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office reports that Richard Joseph Coelho, 53, sawed a hole into the side of the woman’s home in November of last year. Coelho went inside, and the woman was attacked and handcuffed. The woman calmed Coelho down and eventually convinced him to leave the residence. Thanks to a tip, he was located later that day at a storage facility in Modesto.

Coelho pled guilty to first degree burglary, a felony, and admitted a prior “strike” conviction which doubled his sentence. Coelho must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole. The sentence was handed out yesterday in Calaveras County Superior Court.