Alleged safe breaker faces up to life in prison

Espinola

By Allison Scarbrough. Contributing Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 19-year-old Ludington man faces life in prison for allegedly entering a home in the City of Ludington and breaking open a safe early last summer, according to Detective J.B. Wells of the Ludington Police Department.

Trenton Joseph Espinola, of 222 E. Melendy St., was arrested Friday, Sept. 25, by LPD on a warrant for felonies of safe breaking and second-degree home invasion following his arrest the previous day, Sept. 24, for a felony of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police and a misdemeanor of prowling/trespassing. Espinola was served the warrant while lodged in jail, Wells said.

It’s possible that other suspects may be charged in connection to the crimes, Wells said, and the investigation continues for those suspects. “Since his arrest, multiple crimes from multiple agencies have been solved,” he said.

Espinola allegedly committed the safe cracking as an “opportunity to make some money,” Wells said. No one was hurt during the incident, he said.

Espinola is currently lodged in the Mason County Jail on $50,000 cash/surety bond. He is scheduled for a probable cause hearing in 79th District Court, Oct. 7, at 1:15 p.m.

No other information, such as the amount of money reportedly taken from the safe, is being released at this time.

The maximum penalty for safe breaking is life in prison, and the maximum punishment for second-degree home invasion is 20 years incarceration.