Rock Falls man pleads guilty to June home invasion
By TARA BECKER tbecker@svnmail.com 800-798-4085, ext. 570
MORRISON – A Rock Falls man who broke into a Sterling home in June and robbed the family pleaded guilty Tuesday to home invasion.
Cody L. Walters, 22, will be sentenced Feb. 1. He faces 6 to 30 years in prison.
In exchange for his guilty plea, armed robbery, residential burglary and aggravated battery charges were dropped.
Police say Walters, Richard Espinoza and Dustin Stage pushed their way into a house in the 500 block of Avenue C on June 8. A man, woman and a child were home.
The three men, wearing masks and waving a BB gun, demanded money and fled on foot after Stage allegedly shot the man in the forehead, police said. The homeowners, however, recognized Walters.
Espinoza, 18, of Sterling, is in Whiteside County Jail on a $500,000 bond. He has a bench trial in January.
Stage, 24, of Fulton, is being held on a $1 million bond. He will appear in court Friday for a hearing to determine his fitness to stand trial.
They are charged with aggravated unlawful restraint, home invasion and residential burglary and armed robbery; Stage also is charged with aggravated battery.
Walters also pleaded guilty Tuesday to an unrelated charge of driving under the influence of drugs.
In 2008, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison for burglary and 18 months in jail for obstructing justice.
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