Thousand Palms resident sentenced after pleading guilty to burglary charges

A man who carried out a string of commercial burglaries in Rancho Mirage was sentenced to two years in prison after entering guilty pleas to multiple charges, authorities said today.

Thousand Palms resident Kenneth Cook, 48, pleaded guilty to six felony counts of burglary Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to case records.

Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office confirmed the timing and terms of the sentence.   

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Palm Desert station responded to reports of "multiple" burglaries in the Rancho Mirage and Thousand Palms areas in October, according to a department statement.

Authorities said a suspect identified as Cook stole $2,000 in cash, electronics and safes.

The suspect was also linked to commercial burglaries that the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office was in the process of investigating, according to the statement.

On Friday, Rancho Mirage Special Enforcement Team personnel were able to apprehend Cook, who was driving an allegedly stolen vehicle near Ramon Road and Thousand Palms Canyon Road, according to the statement. Deputies said they found burglary tools and additional evidence pointing to the burglaries.

Inmate records indicate that Cook was arrested and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, with a bail amount later reduced to $100,000.

In 2022, Cook was arrested in connection with a series of break-ins at several businesses in Palm Springs.