A 27-year-old man accused of choking and beating an 83-year-old man was jailed Friday evening on charges of assault to cause great bodily injury and elder abuse after he was arrested at the end of a high speed pursuit in Norco.
Deputies responded to the reported assault at 4:10 p.m. in the 1700 block of Hillside Avenue in Norco. The victim said the suspect broke into his home, choked and beat him, then tried to steal his vehicle, according to Sgt. Robert Torres of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim, who was treated at the scene for his injuries, positively identified his former tenant, Paul Otto of Norco, as the suspect, Torres said.
Otto allegedly left the victim’s home in an older model silver Volvo sedan registered to himself and was later seen in front of the sheriff’s department’s Norco station where deputies attempted to arrest him, but Otto drove away at a high rate of speed with deputies in pursuit, Torres said.
The chase ended when Otto’s Volvo crashed into another vehicle in a non-injury crash at the intersection of Hamner Avenue and First Street.
Otto was taken into custody without incident, Torres said.
He being held on $1 million bail.
Legal proceedings were scheduled to start Tuesday, according to sheriff’s jail records.