A jury on July 21 convicted a man of looting an Alpine home during the July 6 West wildfire and attempting to burglarize another home.
The six man, six woman jury deliberated for slightly more than two hours Sept. 21 before finding Ardian Iseni, 30, guilty of burglary and attempted burglary. The trial lasted only three days.
Deputy District Attorney Shane Waller said afterward that Iseni is ineligible to receive probation.
Iseni faces a prison sentence ranging from two years to seven years and five months, said Waller.
El Cajon Superior Court Judge Jeff Fraser set sentencing for Oct. 26. Iseni, who did not testify, remains in jail without bail.
Alpine resident Jeffrey Shoaf identified Iseni in court as the “out of place” man he saw peering into a home and trying to get inside. Shoaf said it was 110 degrees that day and most people were wearing T-shirts and shorts.
But not Iseni, who wore a long sleeve sweatshirt with a hoodie, and long pants. He was on a bicycle and was carrying a woman’s black bag at the time, according to Shoaf and other witnesses.
“He stood out like a sore thumb,” said Shoaf. “My wife said that guy doesn’t belong here.”
Shoaf testified his wife called out to Iseni, yelling “You’re a looter! You don’t belong here!”
Shoaf said Iseni replied back that he was an Alpine resident. “I live in the home behind,” Shoaf quoted Iseni as responding. “I’m checking on a friend,” said Iseni, according to Shoaf.
Shoaf told the jury he knew two women who lived in the house Iseni mentioned. Iseni then got onto his bicycle to leave. “My wife was still shouting quite loudly,” said Shoaf.
Shoaf said Iseni used expletives in response to his wife, and he and others “started chasing him.” He said there were approximately 20-30 people at the intersection, and a sheriff’s deputy showed up after Iseni was tackled by several people. The deputy handcuffed Iseni, and discovered there was jewelry in the black bag.
The bag belonged to Carol Vincelett who testified the bag was in her bedroom when she and her husband evacuated the area. She identified a number of things inside the bag that belonged to her, including jewelry, pliers, her husband’s dog tags, military ribbons, a service medal, a ring belonging to her deceased mother, and other items.
Vincelett was asked if she could identify Iseni, but she could not, noting she only saw him when she testified at the preliminary hearing on July 23. She said Iseni had no business being in her home.
“We went into the bedroom and it was all dumped over,” said Vincelett as she recalled her and her husband returning home to find that someone had gone through their possessions.
Vincelett and her husband testified about the wildfire’s approach into their neighborhood on Sage View Road. “There was smoke, flames at the end of our cul de sac,” said Vincelett.
Shoaf testified he was at work when his son called him at 11:50 a.m. to come home. Shoaf, an engineer, said when he arrived on his block the area “looked like a war zone. Very hectic.”
Shoaf described Iseni as peering into a house and grabbing the doorknob, trying to twist it open 2-3 times. He did not get inside, as the shouts from residents persuaded him to leave.
