Two felons were arrested Monday on suspicion of participating in a violent armed robbery — which allegedly included use of an AK-47 — inside the gated community that houses the Arnold Palmer PGA West golf course in La Quinta.
Garrett Thomas Basich, 31, of Desert Hot Springs and Fernando Leal Jr., 40, of Indio were booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of robbery, with bail set at $500,000 each.
They are accused of joining two other suspects in carrying out the Dec. 20, 2020, robbery in the 79000 block of Olympia Fields.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the robbers bashed the victims’ heads with guns, rendering the two men unconscious, before stealing their possessions and fleeing the scene.
The two other men — Luis Jose Leyva Jr., 32, and Noe Millan Mora, 30, both of Desert Hot Springs — were previously arrested and charged in the case.
Leyva pleaded not guilty in March to 13 felony charges, including six counts of robbery and two counts each of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and assault with a gun. He also faces gun and great bodily injury sentence-enhancing allegations.
Mora pleaded not guilty in April to four counts of robbery and sentence-enhancing allegations of being armed — with an AK-47 — during the commission of a robbery.
Sheriff’s officials did not specify how they pinpointed the group as suspects in the crime.
Three of the suspects have prior documented felony convictions in Riverside County, while Mora does not.
Leyva has prior felony convictions including burglary and vehicle theft, Basich has three felony convictions for grand theft and Leal has a felony conviction for kidnapping.
Basich and Leal could make their initial court appearances as soon as Wednesday, according to jail records.