SANTA CRUZ — Two Scotts Valley High graduates admitted Monday that they stole five guns, including an AK-47 assault rifle, and other property during the burglary of a Scotts Valley house this spring.

However, Judge Paul Burdick decided Ryan Estrada and David Johnston, both 18, will not face state prison for their roles in the break-in.

The teens were set to have a preliminary hearing Monday, at which time the prosecutor would present the case against them, but instead entered pleas in front of Burdick.

Estrada, who is attending Willamette University in Salem, Ore., on a scholarship, pleaded no contest to first-degree burglary. Johnston, a Cabrillo College student, pleaded guilty to the same charge.

“He was prepared to accept responsibility for his actions,” Johnston’s defense attorney, George Gigarjian, said. “I think he’s been through a lot as the result of this case.” A third defendant, who was 17 at the time of the burglary, is charged in juvenile court. The status of his case is confidential because of his age.

Estrada and Johnston can be sentenced to up to a year in County Jail and three years probation, according to Burdick’s ruling.

In court, Assistant District Attorney Rafael Vasquez opposed placing a limit on the teens’ possible sentence before the county Probation Department assessed the case. The maximum sentence for the charges would have been six years in state prison.

“This is a very serious case,” Vasquez said. “These are weapons that have not been recovered.” The missing guns are an AK-47, a Remington rifle, a Mossberg shotgun, a Desert Eagle .44 Magnum pistol and a Ruger .22-caliber pistol.

There are concerns the guns were sold or somehow distributed but “the investigation didn’t confirm any of that,” Vasquez said.

The teens told Scotts Valley police they left the guns in two cases in a wooded area off Lockhart Gulch Road. Officers searched the area but did not turn up the weapons. Police also interviewed more than 15 people in connection with the case but have yet to find the missing weapons, according to Vasquez.

Estrada drove Johnston and the 17-year-old to the house on May 4. He waited in the vehicle while the others broke into the home and took the guns, an XBox 360 gaming system, about 14 video games and several pair of designer sunglasses, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The game system was later recovered, Vasquez said.

Estrada and Johnston appeared in court Monday in slacks and dress shirts. Both are free on $25,000 bail awaiting a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 20.