By Becky Noland

DEL NORTE-A probation officer told a judge last week that Victor Braun, the 24-year-old Monte Vista man on four years probation for burglary, "is doing well."

Braun reports in on a regular basis, is current in his restitution payments and is maintaining full-time employment, reported Teddy Archuleta, Braun's Probation Officer.

"He's doing well, your honor," Archuleta told Judge John Kuenhold Feb. 6 in Rio Grande District Court.

Archuleta said Braun had also complied with drug testing and "everything is clean." He is working full time at his father's paint and body shop, Archuleta said.

Judge John Kuenhold placed Victor Braun on probation July 25 for four years, along with a 60-day jail sentence in the county jail. Earlier in the summer, Braun had pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree burglary in a plea bargain agreement that dismissed three other felony cases pending against him. All the charges stem from a series of burglaries and check frauds Braun committed in Monte Vista during the 2000 Christmas holidays.

When Judge Kuenhold placed Braun on four years probation last summer instead of sending him to prison, he told Braun he was getting a break.

"You're a cocaine addict who's committed a bunch of felonies," Kuenhold said when he sentenced Braun. "You shouldn't expect any more breaks. If you don't shape up, you'll go to the Department of Corrections."

As part of the sentence, Braun was ordered to pay back approximately $8,000. The court ordered him to pay $150 per month and Braun has currently paid $450 in restitution, Archuleta said. When asked how often Braun was tested for drugs, Archuleta said the tests were conducted on a random basis and "often enough to catch him if he's using drugs."

At the sentencing hearing last summer, Braun's girlfriend and mother of their infant child, was present in the courtroom. According to Ruth Acheson, Braun's public defender lawyer, the couple had split up and Braun had filed for custody of his daughter. She then asked that Braun be given no jail time because of his parental responsibilities.

Today, the whereabouts of Braun's girlfriend, Danice Day, is a mystery. Apparently she and Braun had reconciled because she was living with him at the time of her disappearance last month. She disappeared Jan. 9 and hasn't been heard from since. Three weeks into the investigation of her disappearance, the Rio Grande County Sheriff's Office asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to assist them in the case. No arrests have been made in the case.