A Mariposa County Superior Court jury found Bernard Hughes guilty of six counts of burglary last Friday. Hughes had been on trial for weeks.

Hughes, a career criminal facing his third strike, originally faced seven felony counts, but the judge in the case dismissed one of the charges. Hughes’ career in crime began with a first degree burglary conviction 25 years ago in Stanislaus County and continued. He has been convicted of drug related charges, assault with a deadly weapon (twice), and vehicle theft, among others.

The latest Mariposa County conviction is for first degree residential burglary, receiving stolen property, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and falsifying a license plate. Hughes burglarized the home of William and Janet Whitla of Hornitos on May 1, 2008.

The jury also found the special allegations involving Hughes’ prior strikes to be true. He faces 25 years to life under California’s Three Strikes law.

Following the jury’s decision, Hughes reportedly attempted suicide at the Mariposa County Jail. According to Sheriff Brian Muller, Hughes took the small blade from inside a pencil sharpener and cut his arms rather seriously. The cuts were so bad that they required surgery at a Fresno hospital. Hughes has since been released from the hospital and is back in jail.

At Tuesday’s board of supervisors’ meeting Muller thanked the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office for providing deputies to guard Hughes while he was in the hospital and taking him back to the Fresno County Jail while local officers traveled there to pick him up.