Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

I am trying to help a friend with a complicated legal problem and am looking for some guidance. Here is a short synopsis of the story.

My friend, a 35 year old man with no previous criminal history, met a woman through a mutual friend. They had not known each other for very long. My friend received a desperate call from this woman one day saying she was in trouble and could he come over. He went over to her house, apparently her parents home, to talk to her. When he arrived he noticed the walls lined with boxes of things that had been packed up. She told him that her parents were out of town and that someone she knew was also aware they were gone and that these people were going to steal all of her parents things. She stated that she had spoken to her parents in Europe, and they advised her to rent a storage unit to keep everything safe until their return. She volunteered to have her father talk to him over the phone to confirm the request. He spoke with an older sounding man on the phone who identified himself as her father. The "father" gave him the go ahead to help his daughter move the things into storage, as they were going to be out of the country for an extended period of time. The next day, he received a frantic call from this woman, who said that the thieves were there in the house and she was scared. He heard a lot of commotion in the background. He raced over there to help her and found her bleeding from a gunshot wound. He took her to the hospital. Since it was a gunshot, the police asked him questions as well. After she was released from the hospital, he helped her move the boxes into a storage unit. At one point she asked him to take her father's prized gun for safe keeping. She felt it was too dangerous to keep a weapon in storage and said it was very important to her father.

Fast forward to my friend being arrested for possession of stolen goods, theft of firearm, Felony theft, theft from an elderly dependent adult, etc.

Apparently, the woman had been selling off all of her parents belongings. The surveillance video showed my friend helping to move all of the boxes to storage, and then leaving. Shortly after he left, the video showed the arrival of another man, followed by a series of people transacting business with the woman, who subsequently carried away the items.

The police determined that the gunshot the woman received was self inflicted. She had shot herself in order to further gain the sympathy of my friend, who owned a large truck, has a trusting personality, and isn't the type to suspect a woman of going to such lengths. The prosecution could see he was not involved in the selling of the merchandise, so they offered to drop the charges to the charges involving the weapon. My friend did not have a jury trial. He was not aware that this was even an option. I don't think he had any clue as to his rights. In any event, the court ordered him to pay 330,000 dollars in restitution to the woman's parents for the lost items.( The total losses they claimed amounted to approx. 1,000,000 but they divided it into three parts, one part for each person charged in the crime)

He has been on probation for this for seven years now, and has been sent to jail three times for not paying the payments. He hasn't had a real job since this incident occurred and has no assets whatsoever. I found something in the grantor grantee index which indicates that the parents recently added this woman to the family trust. They are in their 80's now, and in short time she will inherit their property. This means that the 330,000 dollars restitution that he is ordered to pay, will eventually be paid to this woman who was the actual perpetrator. He has been told he will not be released from probation until he has met this obligation. The threat of returning to jail constantly looms over his head. The court recently increased the amount he is supposed to pay to something like 1400 a month.

Here are my questions:

Why is the court demanding him to pay money for the stolen items when he was only pleaded to the weapons charge?

What options does he have for legal recourse?

Can he possibly sue this woman through civil suit?

Should he ask for a hearing regarding the restitution payments, and possibly ask for a modification?

Any other advice or directions you are willing to share will be most gratefully appreciated. I feel a great injustice has been done, and as my friend is unfamiliar with the court and rather intimidated by its processes, I am asking in his stead. Thank you in advance.

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