Crime & Safety

Preliminary Hearing Today for Belmont Burglary Suspects

The preliminary hearing is set for 2 p.m. in San Mateo County Superior Court.

The preliminary hearing for Travis Castellanos and Jenna Montani, who are accused in the recent spike of thefts and burglaries in Belmont, is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.

Castellanos, 21, and Montani, 20, have to the crimes. Castellanos remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 for his most recent charges and $75,000 bail for prior theft charges. Montani has been released on a $10,000 bail bond.

Detectives believe Castellanos and Montani may be responsible for hundreds of thefts throughout the Peninsula, and are coordinating with area law enforcement officials as part of the investigation, Belmont Police Capt. Dan DeSmidt said.

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From his , Castellanos is charged with two counts of possession of stolen property, five counts of petty theft with prior theft convictions, and three counts of grand theft -- all felonies, Assistant District Attorney Guidotti said.

He is also charged with misdemeanor of being under the influence of a controlled substance and misdemeanor of being in possession of drug paraphernalia in connection with the May arrest.

Find out what's happening in Belmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the case connected to his arrest Aug. 10, Castellanos is charged with three counts of car theft, four counts of possession of stolen property, according to Guidotti.

Montani, who was arrested with Castellanos earlier this month, is charged with one count of receiving stolen property and one count of possession of paraphernalia.

Aug. 10 was the third time Castellanos had been arrested in Belmont for theft or burglary in the past 18 months, according to DeSmidt.

Today's preliminary hearing is expected to last two hours.


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