Paris Hilton Burglar Convicted by Jury

It took jurors in a Van Nuys courthouse just one hour to find Nathan Lee Parada guilty of attempting to burglarize the home of Sherman Oaks resident and socialite Paris Hilton. 

Hilton and her boyfriend, Cy Waits, both testified in the two day trial against the 31 year old Parada. They described hearing a pounding sound on a downstairs window of Hilton's residence around 6am the morning of August 24, 2010. Parada was holding two knives when Waits confronted him outside the home. Waits held Parada at bay with a pistol till police arrived.

In a case that had celebrity trappings, both sides were forced to deal with the issue of a world famous person cast in the role of victim. Prosecutor Kaveh Fatureci told the jurors that this case was no different than any other, a sentiment he repeated to Sherman Oaks Patch outside the courtroom today. "I don't think it (celebrity) played any role in the verdict because they came back with the right one based on the evidence in this case. I would have handled it the same no matter who the victim was." 

Public defender, Juan Perez, declined to give his reaction to today's verdict. During the trial, he accused the District Attorney's office of elevating a simple trespassing charge to attempted burglary because of Hilton's celebrity. 

Speaking exclusively to Sherman Oaks Patch, Parada's father, Glen Parada, was clearly upset by the verdict. "What I can't understand is why they made the decision to take this case to trial. She's a celebrity. It's going to go that way. It did. It was a bad, bad decision (to go to trial.) The elder Parada has told Sherman Oaks Patch that his son has suffered from bipolar disorder for six years. "I am hoping that they can maybe put him in a place where they can give him medication," Glen Parada said. 

Sentencing is set for June 29th. Parada could get a maximum of three years in prison.