Michael Gutierrez in court Thursday afternoon

Amber True in court Thursday afternoon

SANTA ROSA (KRON) – Two suspects are facing three felonies each in connection with the ransacking of a home belonging to a family of four killed in a car crash last weekend.

26-year-old Michael Gutierrez and his girlfriend, 29-year-old Amber True, appeared in court Thursday afternoon and plead not guilty.

Both face three felonies each: residential burglary, possession of stolen property and auto theft.

KRON 4’s Terisa Estacio was in court Thursday and says Gutierrez wore a jail issued jumpsuit and sat in the front row. She notes that he stared at the camera several times while his picture was being taken. Terisa describes Gutierrez as a bit defiant and aloof about Thursday’s procedures and the case against him, which some law enforcement officials have called despicable.

True also had a jail uniform on. But, unlike her boyfriend, she rarely looked up. Instead, Terisa says she kept her head down most of the time and seemed sad and upset. She did, however, look up at the judge while he was reading the charges. She also looked over at Gutierrez a few times.

42-year-old Susan and John Maloney and their children, 8-year-old Aiden and 5-year-old Grace, were killed Saturday night in a crash involving a Mini Cooper on state Highway 37.

On Tuesday morning, police were called to the family’s home in the 1000 block of Fryer Creek in Sonoma after relatives discovered the house had been ransacked and a car stolen.

The two were arrested Tuesday in San Mateo County in connection with the burglary.

According to Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Michael Li, True faces a maximum of eight years and eight months in prison and Gutierrez could be sentenced to 11 years and eight months because he has three prior prison commitments.

Judge Elliot Daum kept bail at $500,000 for each defendant but will review it Monday morning.

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