Defendants Plead Guilty in 2007 Home Invasion

The three men charged in a pled guilty in the middle of the trial Wednesday to charges that include robbery and burglary.

Bronx residents Angel Rosa, 33; Jonathan Lopez, 35; and Ruben Sanchez, 32, all pled guilty to charges of first degree robbery, second degree burglary, second degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and second degree conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary, according to a release from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said all three men entered their guilty pleas in front of Judge Julie Marino.

With the plea, Soriano said, the men will be sentenced to 10 years in state prison with an 85 percent to serve provision.

According to Soriano, Bridgewater Township Police responded to a call at 3 a.m. July 30, 2007 of a burglary in progress. The call, he said, was placed from a home on Downey Road.

The victim, Soriano said, told police that three Hispanic men had broken into the house and demanded money. One of the men, the victim said, was armed with a black semi-automatic pistol, and the suspects left the house with money and jewelry.

Soriano said police found Lopez and Sanchez as they were walking along a neighboring property on Downey Road, and they later found Rosa hiding in a drainage culvert on Downey Road.

A search of Rosa, Soriano said, found jewelry and money from the home, and the rest of the cash was found on Lopez.

Soriano said police did a search of the area, and found a pair of blue gloves, a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and a 5-gallon water jar with money taken from the house. A vehicle belonging to the men was found parked on Cross Road with the keys in the ignition.

With the guilty plea Wednesday, Soriano said, the defendats apologized to the victims, who were in attendance in court.

Sentencing for the three men will be held Feb. 24, 2012.