Two men were arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder in connection with the stabbing death of a 64-year-old man in the course of what detectives say was a home-invasion robbery in Palmdale last summer.
Vincent Roper was found dead on Aug. 25 in the 37600 block of Patty Court, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies responded to a report of an open door at a residence and found Roper unconscious on the floor of the home, officials said.
Fire department personnel pronounced Roper dead at the scene.
“During the investigation, detectives discovered that victim Roper was murdered,” according to a sheriff’s department statement. “He suffered stab wounds and blunt force trauma to his body during the incident.”
The arrested suspects were identified as Francis Tulanda, 40, of Canyon Country and Christopher Brandon, 32, of Los Angeles, the sheriff’s department reported.
“The motive for the murder was a home invasion robbery gone awry,” according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Tulanda and Brandon were each being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to sheriff’s inmate records.