Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘American Murder: Laci Peterson’ takes us back in time to the early 2000s when the disappearance and murder case of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner, took the nation by storm. However, around the same time, the house right across the street from the missing woman was robbed, making the detectives suspect that the two incidents might be connected. Thus, the two burglars, Glenn Pearce and Steven Todd, found themselves in the middle of a deep investigation.
Glenn Pearce and Steven Todd Robbed the Medina House in Modesto in 2002
Margaret Ellen and Norman Glenn Pearce brought a little bundle of joy into the world on October 21, 1958, in the form of Donald Glenn Pearce. Born in McAlister, Oklahoma, Glenn moved to Salida, California, in 1966, along with his mother and brother, Ronnie Pearce. After graduating from Beyer High School, he once again relocated with his family, this time to Tenaya Drive in Modesto, where he worked for the Campbell Soup Company. For a few years, he moved to Vegas and maintained slot machines. But his love for his family made him return to Modesto.
Glenn entered parenthood with the birth of his twins, whom he named Allisun Sue and Noah Austin, in 1998. Despite his free-spirited lifestyle, he raised his children with the help of his mother. He was passionate about cars, so much so that he hardly missed local car shows and could repair a broken-down car. In December 2002, he collaborated with Steven Wayne Todd, and together, they planned a burglary of the Medina house at 516 Covena Avenue, right across the street from Laci Peterson’s house. When Rudy and Susan Medina went for a short trip to LA from the morning of December 24, 2002, to the evening of December 26, the duo burglarized the house. Around the same time, on December 24, Laci went missing from her residence.
The Police Suspected Them to be Connected to the Disappearance of Laci Peterson
About a week or so later, the authorities were tipped by an informant named Mark that the items stolen from the Medina house were with Steven. So, when the police reached 1406 Tenaya Drive in Modesto, they found out that the robbers had stolen some power tools, a couple of handguns, a safe containing $3,000 in cash, more than $50,000 worth of jewelry, a Gucci watch, and several other expensive items. On January 2, 2003, Steven Todd and Glenn Pearce were taken into custody. It turned out that the former was out on bail and was scheduled to be sentenced to seven years and four months in January 2003. Moreover, the burglary was his third strike.
Since the burglary occurred around the time of Laci’s disappearance, the police interrogated Steven regarding the same. However, he claimed that they only robbed the Medina house and had nothing to do with the vanishing of the pregnant woman. Initially, Steven provided the investigators with the wrong date of the theft, that is, December 27, only to later claim that they had burglarized the Medinas on December 26 between 3 am and 7 am. After verifying the statements of Steven and Glenn, they were cleared of any involvement in the case of the missing Laci Peterson.
Glenn Pearce and Steven Todd Went to Prison For the Burglary
In early February 2003, Steven Todd pleaded guilty to the December 26, 2002, robbery of the Medina house in Modesto, California. Given the fact that he was a three-strike plus felon after the theft, he was supposed to be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison. However, the court only gave him an additional year and four months to his previous sentence, making it a total sentence of eight years and eight months in prison. On the other hand, Donald Glenn Pearce was sentenced to 180 days in prison. It seems that Glenn Pearce stayed away from any more crimes after he got out of prison and led a crimeless life with his family in Modesto, California. On October 18, 2019, he reportedly passed away at the age of 60.
Read More: Jon Buehler: Where is the Modesto PD Detective Now?
