Serial 'Snuggler' Sentenced to Probation
 

(submitted by gekkogecko)
AP to My
Yahoo!

BATON ROUGE, La. - Baton Rouge's serial "snuggler" —
the man who snuck into women's apartments just to
cuddle with them — has been sentenced to five years'
probation.

Before pleading guilty earlier this year to 12 counts
of unauthorized entry, Steve Danos led a commendable
life, a judge said Wednesday before sentencing.

None of the victims was hurt. Instead, the intruder
roused the residents to ask about a party, helped
himself to beer and pizza, folded clothes, made nachos
and crawled into one woman's bed to rub her stomach.

Before his arrest, Danos had a more notable claim to
fame. He drove in the winning run in the state
championship baseball game his senior year at John
Curtis Christian School in River Ridge.

"It's simply unbelievable," state District Judge Todd
Hernandez said Wednesday, while flipping through a
thick pile of letters written to the court on Danos'
behalf by friends, teachers and school administrators.

"Mr. Danos, up until this point you've led a life that
would make any parent unbelievably proud," Hernandez
told him.

The judge attributed Danos' bizarre behavior to the
use of alcohol and drugs.

"There's no other explanation," Hernandez said.

Danos' attorney, Robert Gill, said Danos was an
outstanding high school athlete who expected to walk
on at LSU. We he didn't make the team, he sank into
depression, Gill said.

The odd behavior began when Danos started soothing
himself with Xanax, alcohol and marijuana, Gill said.

Danos had little to say in court beyond polite,
perfunctory responses to the judge's questions.
Hernandez ordered him to complete 200 hours of
community service, attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings and submit to regular drug screenings.

The judge agreed that Danos' probation file could be
transferred to Orleans Parish, where the 26-year-old
will be attending the University of New Orleans.

He also reminded Danos of the suspended sentence he'll
have to serve if he doesn't comply with the conditions
of his probation.