Prolific fast food burglar pleads guilty after arrest at Olympia Taco Bell

A suspect accused of burglarizing several fast-food restaurants along the Interstate 5 corridor and stealing thousands of dollars in the past two years now faces more than 12 years in prison.

Alexis Cardenas, 26, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lewis County Superior Court to five counts of second-degree burglary, five counts of first-degree malicious mischief and one count of attempted delivery of cocaine while in jail, according to The Centralia Chronicle.

The Chronicle reports that Cardenas will return to court April 20 to schedule a sentencing hearing, where prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 148 months.

Olympia police arrested Cardenas in February as he attempted to open a safe with a grinding wheel inside the Taco Bell in the 1100 block of Cooper Point Road. He was also implicated in a July 2015 burglary of an Arby’s in Lacey in which a safe had been opened with similar cutting tools, according to court documents.

In addition to cases in Thurston and Lewis counties, Cardenas is also accused of burglarizing a fast-food restaurant in Franklin County in 2015.

Cardenas has four prior convictions for burglary, with the most recent coming in 2012. He was released from prison in December 2014 in that King County case, according to court documents.

Three other suspects have been charged for their participation in some of the crimes: Joaquin Armenta, Cole T. Moon and Morelia V. Ayala Garcia. Moon pleaded guilty for his role in the burglary of a McDonald’s restaurant in Centralia and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, according to Lewis County Sirens. The other two suspects’ cases are still pending.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Prolific fast food burglar pleads guilty after arrest at Olympia Taco Bell."