4 MUST STAND TRIAL IN BURGLARIES.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Four Palmdale men are awaiting trial in connection with a string of burglaries stretching from the San Fernando Valley to the Antelope Valley.

One of the break-ins occurred in January 2005 in Acton, where, unknown to the suspects, the homeowner called 911 from under a bed as she heard one of intruders say, ``If anything moves, shoot it,'' according to prosecutors.

Charged are Ricardo Nunez, 28, Salvador Perez, 23, and brothers Jorge, 20, and Ramiro Ruvalcaba, 22.

The four men were ordered held for trial after a three-day preliminary hearing that concluded Thursday. They have all pleaded not guilty and remain in custody.

Four other defendants have entered pleas to other charges and been sentenced to terms ranging from 16 months to four years in prison, prosecutors said.

``They committed residential burglaries during the daytime when people were working and these defendants weren't,'' Deputy District Attorney John Evans said. Nunez and another man were arrested two days after the Acton burglary following a 48-mile chase from Lancaster to Sylmar. Authorities said a search of a Lancaster home and a Palmdale storage locker turned up hundreds of pieces of stolen property, including passports, driver's licenses, checkbooks, leather jackets, watches, cell phones, portable disc-jockey equipment and computers.

Sheriff's deputies said the property appeared to have been stolen in dozens of home burglaries, car burglaries and robberies to pay for drug use.

Methamphetamine, counterfeit money and forged checks were tossed out of the pickup truck during the chase, deputies said.

Among the property deputies found was an expensive shotgun stolen during the Acton burglary as the woman hid from the intruders. The burglars also stole her sport utility vehicle.

Evans said the woman was in her house when she heard the door kicked open. Before seeking refuge under her bed, she saw three men with guns entering the house, Evans said.

``Forty minutes after they left, they were using her credit card to buy food at Carl's Jr. in the San Fernando Valley,'' Evans said.

The January 2005 chase occurred after a Los Angeles County housing inspector went to a home in Lancaster to check complaints that the occupants were involved in narcotics.

The inspector, who was called because the tenant received a Section 8 rent subsidy, spotted items that appeared to be stolen, deputies said.

As deputies were attempting to get a search warrant, the suspects drove up in a truck and took off after they spotted the deputies, officials said.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

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