MIAMI _ Cuca, a West Kendall, Fla., family's beloved African gray parrot, was quite the talker. She knew everyone's name, learned to give the dog commands, mimicked coughs and, of course, cussed plenty in Spanish.
"She had a full vocabulary," said her owner, Robert Lopez.
Cuca, however, was birdnapped from the Lopez family's home two years ago, along with a cache of guns, jewelry and other family heirlooms. The intruders even tried to suffocate two of the family dogs to keep them from barking, Lopez says. They survived, but Cuca has never been found _ Lopez believes she's been killed to keep her silent.
While the intruders themselves have not been identified, the heist's lookout, Yanela Tena-Cabrera, 24, pleaded guilty on Thursday. A judge sentenced her to three years in prison, plus two years of house arrest and eight years of probation.
She had been facing a minimum prison sentence of about seven years in prison. But Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Veronica Diaz said she believed Tena-Cabrera's history of mental illness merited a lesser sentence.
"This is in no way, Mr. Lopez, trying to minimize the crime. This defendant will be punished for her crime," Diaz said. "I have done what I believe is fair."
Tena-Cabrera has already served two years behind bars, so she'll get credit for time served. She'll also have to pay restitution of at least $50,000, the judge ruled. Lopez's losses were over $400,000, he said.
"I guess crime pays, your honor," Lopez replied.
Lopez is an insurance adjuster who owns several Sushi Sake restaurants in South Florida. The burglary, prosecutors believe, was set up by the Lopez's longtime housekeeper, who is Tena-Cabrera's aunt and revealed when the family would be on vacation.
"It was an inside job," Miami-Dade prosecutor Priscilla Ruiz told the court.
Lopez's house was first broken into on July 4, 2017, when the burglars stole six or seven firearms, passports and Social Security cards, jewelry and other valuables. Cuca, who was 11 _ the same age as Lopez's daughter, Adriana _ was swiped along with her cage from the back terrace.
"She knew she would break the heart of that 11-year-old girl in taking that bird," Lopez's lawyer, Simon Steckel, told the court.
Weeks later, prosecutors say, the group struck again while the family was on vacation, and ransacked Lopez's West Miami-Dade office, stealing a handgun.
Both burglaries were captured on surveillance video, but remained unsolved until Tena-Cabrera was questioned after being pulled over in a car and arrested for marijuana. Her signed confession was the key evidence.
She turned to an "unknown suspect" named Jose, who paid her $4,000 to act as the lookout for a group of burglars.
Defense lawyers Andrew Rier and Carolle El-Naffy argued that their client deserved a lesser sentence because she suffers from mental-health problems and was a first-time offender
"I am very sorry for the damage that I caused," Tena-Cabrera told the court. "I'm sorry for the damage I caused society."
Tena-Cabrera pleaded guilty to armed burglary, grand theft and other charges. She had no plea deal, and gambled that the judge might give her lesser time.
Lopez and his lawyer bristled that she asked for less time _ saying Tena-Cabrera refused to help police identify the intruders she worked with.
"My family will never be the same," Lopez told the judge on Thursday. "We don't trust anybody to come into our home now."
