A felon accused of orchestrating an armed home invasion robbery at the Palm Springs residence of a man he met through a dating app pleaded not guilty Friday to a half-dozen felony charges.
Juan Lopez-Villanueva, 26, of Cathedral City was arrested late Monday and is charged with five counts of robbery and one count of burglary, with sentence-enhancing allegations of using a gun during the commission of a felony.
The alleged crimes involved four separate victims, court papers indicate.
The defendant was arraigned before a judge at the Larson Justice Center in Indio and is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 11 for a felony settlement conference. He remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
The robbery was reported about 1 a.m. last Saturday in the 1000 block of East Ramon Road, according to the Palm Springs Police Department. Police allege the suspect arrived at the unnamed victim’s house after meeting the resident online.
Lopez-Villanueva then allegedly let two other suspects inside, who assisted in the robbery that netted a wallet and other belongings totaling less than $950.
Police alleged that Lopez-Villanueva grabbed the victim’s car keys and drove away in his car, but no vehicle theft charges were filed.
Authorities arrested him Monday somewhere on Calle Bella in Coachella, jail records show.
The investigation into the whereabouts of the other suspects was continuing, police said.
Lopez-Villanueva had an active bench warrant out for his arrest stemming from an unresolved drug case from 2019.
He has prior felony convictions in Riverside County for assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and negligent discharge of a firearm, court records show.