BOISE, Idaho — Michael Tamburrino of Star was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for burglary, grand theft, and malicious injury to property.
The 41-year-old was arrested on Jan. 17, 2019 when police responded to reports of a burglary on Warm Springs Avenue in Boise. When police arrived, officers found Tamburrino armed and hiding in the bushes nearby with stolen items.
Police were then able to connect Tamburrino to a dozen other home burglaries in North Ada County, including houses in Eagle, Avimor, Hidden Springs, and neighborhoods near Cartwright Road.
Before Tamburrino moved to Idaho, he spent eight years in a California prison.
Tamburrino was charged with burglary in 1998 and then again in 2005 where he admitted to committing 20 residential burglaries in San Diego County.
On Friday, Ada County Judge Jason Scott said Tamburrino's prison sentence was to protect the public, as he illegally entered homes with a loaded gun.
"He had it for a reason," Judge Scott said, "For the victims, it's not just the loss of one's things. Their sense of safety and well-being is gone and they are left with the uncertainty of whether it will happen again. That, for many people is much worse."
Tamburrino will be eligible for parole in nine years.
