Man pleads guilty to Palm Springs burglary, receives three-year sentence

A 46-year-old Indio man was sentenced to three years in prison today after pleading guilty to a burglary charge in connection with a break-in at a Palm Springs business.

Duane Blunt entered a guilty plea on Friday to a felony count of burglary at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to case records. A misdemeanor count of possessing burglary tools was dismissed.

The defendant will serve his three-year sentence in county prison, John Hall of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office told City News Service.

The Palm Springs Police Department received a report of a business' alarm being activated in the 600 block of S. Palm Canyon Drive shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from the department.   

Police said the alarm company alerted them to a forced entry at the property, with a suspect visibly inside the premises.   

Officers arrested Blunt while surveying the area, police said. He was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance.   

Blunt was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of second-degree burglary, probation violation and possession of a controlled substance, police said.

Police did not specify what items were allegedly taken or intended to be stolen during the break-in.