A young woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to robbing a Pacific Beach woman and to stealing a police patrol car that she drove onto Fiesta Island and into the water.
Stephanie Nicole Majserski, 25, also pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of the robbery victim in her own home, burglary, and two counts of resisting arrest.
The guilty pleas were accepted by San Diego Superior Court Judge Polly Shamoon, who set sentencing for Sept. 28. The judge indicated she might impose a five-year prison term.
Deputy District Attorney Lucille Yturralde said Majserski faces a maximum term is nine years and eight months in prison.
The co-defendant, James Lee Graham, 41, confirmed his trial date that is set for Dec. 4. He faces the same charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Six witnesses testified April 11 in the preliminary hearing including a woman who said the couple robbed her of her wallet, cell phone, and laptops after entering her home on Dec. 14, 2017 in the 2100 block of Pacific Beach Drive.
The robbery victim said they both walked into her home through an unlocked door around 9:10 p.m. Police officers responded to a 911 call and they both quickly left the car when they saw Graham and Majsterski running in the area.
Officers arrested Graham. They left the patrol car running, but officers thought the car was locked.
Majsterski somehow got into the patrol car and drove it to Fiesta Island. The woman fled the vehicle as the water engulfed the vehicle and attempted to hide on the island.
She was covered with sand and soaking wet as she struggled with officers who were trying to handcuff and arrest her. Two detectives testified they found the stolen laptops and other property in a gully in a bag, which had Majsterski’s identification inside.
Yturralde said Graham was convicted of committing 10 robberies in a four-month series in 2008 in San Diego and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was on parole when the home invasion robbery occurred.
As a third strike defendant, Graham faces 63 years to life in prison if he’s convicted.
Graham remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility on $600,000 bail while Majsterski remains in the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility on $300,000 bail.
