A man accused of breaking into a home and stealing a safe containing jewelry that belonged to the late Western Kentucky University Provost Barbara Burch has pleaded guilty.

Javier Nunez, 42, of Old Hickory, Tenn., pleaded guilty Tuesday in Warren Circuit Court to charges of first-degree unlawful imprisonment, second-degree robbery, second-degree assault and theft by unlawful taking ($10,000 or more).

Nunez agreed to be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He is one of six people charged, and the first to plead guilty, in what authorities allege was a plot to steal the jewelry that culminated in a July 13, 2020, home invasion.

In court, Nunez admitted forcing his way into the Smallhouse Road home where the safe was kept, tackling Doreen McCloud while in the home and restraining her with zip ties.

McCloud suffered fractures to her ankle and lower leg, court records said.

“I was instructed by some of my co-defendants to go to the place where we went, where a safe was in a house,” Nunez said in court.

Nunez’s attorney, Mark Smith, said Nunez was carrying a “fake firearm” at the time of the incident.

It is believed the group of intruders used a dolly to steal the safe from the home.

McCloud was able to free herself and contact her boyfriend, who called police.

A co-defendant, Nicholas Cruz-Palacios, is accused of breaking into the home with Nunez and a third person.

Cruz-Palacios is charged with engaging in organized crime, kidnapping, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and theft by unlawful taking.

He made a brief appearance Tuesday in Warren Circuit Court with his attorney, Blake Beliles, who said a plea agreement had been reached and he needed to go over the paperwork with Cruz-Palacios with the help of an interpreter.

Cruz-Palacios will return to court April 26.

The incident was investigated by the Bowling Green Police Department.

BGPD Detective Tim Buss testified last year at a preliminary hearing in Warren District Court that police reviewed security camera footage from the area, focusing on a white cargo van carrying men dressed in uniforms that made them appear to be delivery workers.

Analysis of home security camera footage led police to determine that one of the robbers used the speaker phone function on a cellphone to communicate with someone who appeared to be talking them through each step of the robbery, Buss testified.

Bowling Green police, with assistance from the FBI, analyzed cell tower activity in the area around the time of the robbery and through their analysis learned of a phone number registered to Nunez.

Police surveilled Nunez’s residence and observed a van that appeared to have been used during the home invasion. Investigators served a search warrant at the residence and made contact with Nunez and Cruz-Palacios, who made statements implicating themselves, court records said.

Two co-defendants, Jeffery Weisman and Patricia Weisman, are charged with engaging in organized crime, complicity to commit kidnapping, complicity to commit first-degree robbery, complicity to commit second-degree assault and complicity to commit theft by unlawful taking.

They are accused of planning the jewelry heist and hiring the people who committed the home invasion, as well as having knowledge of the safe and its contents, as well as the security features of the Smallhouse Road home.

According to prior court testimony, Jeffery Weisman sold a large amount of Burch’s jewelry collection to her over the years and the Weismans are identified in court records as “close acquaintances” of the Burch family.

Two other people, Frank Leonard and Marshall Belew, face the same charges as the Weismans.

Belew and Leonard are identified in court records as operators of Tennessee-based jewelry stores.

Burch was WKU provost from 1998 until her retirement in 2010. She died in January 2020.

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.