Carlsbad Jewelry Thief Get 50 Years to Life Sentence

Vista Judge Aaron Katz sentenced John Leslie Davis to 50 years to life in state prison for robbing a Carlsbad jewelry store by sneaking inside during off-hours through holes he had cut in the building.

Davis, 53, was last month of two robbery charges for the holdup at on State Street the morning of Oct. 21, 2009.

Davis was armed with a handgun and wearing a Halloween mask when he burst into the business from a back room while employees were preparing to open the store. He scooped up jewelry, fled into a woman's bathroom in the business and disappeared, police said. Investigating officers later found holes cut in the bathroom ceiling and the roof of the building. The thief evidently had chopped both holes in the structure at some earlier time, according to police, who arrested Davis in February 2010 after linking him to the crime through DNA evidence.

CNS contributed to this report