GLENDALE : Ex-Coach Pleads Not Guilty in Panty Raids

A former youth soccer coach pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony burglary charges stemming from the discovery of a plastic bag in his attic that contained underwear belonging to several girls who played on his team.

Luis Castellanos, 19, of Montbello, faces seven counts of felony residential burglary and 12 counts of receiving stolen property for allegedly breaking into 20 homes in the La Crescenta-Tujunga area and stealing panties and money.

Castellanos is being held in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

After he appeared for an arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court, Castellanos’ case was sent to the Los Angeles County Probation Department for an investigation into his background.

Judge Thomas Stoever also ordered Castellanos to visit a psychiatrist. He will appear for a pretrial conference in Pasadena Superior Court July 26 at 8:30 a.m.

Depending on information contained in the probation and psychiatrist’s reports, attorneys will either attempt to settle the case at the pretrial hearing or ask that it be held over for trial, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Rash.

Castellanos told Glendale police he broke into the homes of 14- and 15-year-old girls who played on his American Youth Soccer Organization Region 88 team and on his father’s team to steal their underwear as a “memento from each of the girls.”

Officers found a “break-in list” detailing robberies committed from early 1993 through April, 1994, in Castellanos’ bedroom after his arrest April 27. The list featured a column with girls’ names and addresses and a category listed as “underwear mission.”