LOS ANGELES -- Two teenagers who broke into Penny Marshall's home dressed as Japanese Ninja warriors and armed with martial arts weapons have pleaded guilty to robbery charges.
The co-star of television's 'Laverne and Shirley' series was threatened but not injured by the suspects.
Police captured the pair outside Miss Marshall's house.
Daniel Sheppard, 19, of Los Angeles and Anthony Pierson, 18, of Beverly Hills pleaded guilty Tuesday to single counts of residential robbery and being armed with illegal weapons. Prosecutors said they would ask the judge to dismiss other charges, including burglary, against both.
Sheppard was armed with a nunchaku, similar to a billy club, and Pierson with a samurai sword when they broke into Miss Marshall's Hollywood Hills home on the night of March 13. They were both wearing black robes with hoods.
Superior Court Judge Henry Nelson set sentencing for Aug. 13, when the youths could receive seven years in prison on the charges.
The actress was alone at home when she spotted an intruder and turned on a silent alarm, alerting security guards who called the police. She then was confronted by the teenagers, who took about $400 in video equipment and jewelry.
Miss Marshall, 42, testified at the youths' preliminary hearing that one of the teenagers pointed a sword at her and said, 'Don't move or I'll kill you.'
She said the youths also cut her phone lines and smashed one telephone, telling her, 'It's better than beating your head in.'
Police were surrounding the home when the youths released Miss Marshall unharmed and fled out the back door, leaving a trail of stolen items. They were captured an hour later in dense brush behind the house.
