Travel Plans

Man Who Intruded Into Nicolas Cage's Home Nude Sentenced
Furo, 46, Pleads Guilty To Felony Stalking

POSTED: 7:38 pm PST January 10, 2008
UPDATED: 6:51 am PST January 11, 2008

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A San Pedro man arrested in the Newport Beach home of Nicolas Cage -- naked except for the actor's leather jacket -- pleaded guilty Thursday to felony stalking and was ordered into a drug rehabilitation program.

Robert Dennis Furo Jr., 46, was given credit for time served in the Orange County Jail and ordered to undergo six months of rehabilitation, consisting of one month in lockdown and five months in a residential facility, according to Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Superior Court Judge Karen Robinson also ordered Furo to have no direct, indirect or third-party contact with the Oscar-winning actor and to remain at least 100 yards away from the Cage family, Emami said.

Furo, arrested Oct. 1, was initially charged with burglary and theft with a prior conviction, but those counts were dismissed.

Furo, who has worked as a caregiver, will be transferred Friday from the jail to a rehab facility in Tarzana, defense attorney Jack Kayajanian said.

Furo has relatives who live in the Bayshore gated community in Newport Beach where Cage bought a home, Kayajanian said. Furo has a sticker on his car to get into the community, which is on a parcel where John Wayne's estate was once located, he said.

At the time he wandered into the Cage home, Furo was taking sleeping pills and Vicodin, for which he has a prescription, but was taking more than prescribed, the lawyer said.

"He was in a drug-induced daze," Kayajanian said, describing it as "sleepwalking."

The Cage home, which Kayajanian said he understands is being sold, is adjacent to a homeowner association-run beach with docks that are used by the community for small boats.

Kayajanian said he knew a previous owner of the house and is familiar with it.

"It's easy to walk into," he said. "Apparently there were a couple of doors ajar. There was no breaking and entering. This young man walked through an open door and somehow he went upstairs. He took his clothes off in the bathroom. He saw a jacket with a brand-new tag in the closet."

Police said Cage, who was upstairs with his wife and child, reported seeing Furo, whom he did not know, standing at the door of the bathroom, and that he was naked, except for the leather jacket.

Cage escorted the man out, and Furo did not resist the actor, star of such films as "Leaving Las Vegas," "The Rock" and the "National Treasure" films, according to police.

A lieutenant said earlier that Furo's sweatpants were found in his car, but no other clothes were around.

Cage was apprised of the disposition of the case and signed off on it, Kayajanian said, applauding the actor "for recognizing the frailty" of his client.

Kayajanian said prosecutors refused to allow Furo to plead guilty to misdemeanor trespassing. But if he completes his program and three years of formal probation, he can apply to get the felony count reduced to a misdemeanor.

Emami said Furo had been subjected to mental health and medical reviews, and they were considered as part of the case.

"The medical reports are sealed," she said.

"The essence of why was not as important as the fact that it happened," she said. "The district attorney's role is to charge him based on what he did."

That's awesome! I wonder how understanding Brad Pitt and Angelina would be if I dropped by.