A 20-year-old probationer accused of joining a cohort in perpetrating a home invasion targeting a Woodcrest senior, who was assaulted and bound during the holdup, was charged Tuesday with robbery and other offenses.
Luis Alverto Talavera Huato of Perris was arrested Thursday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Along with robbery, Huato is charged with false imprisonment, burglary, elder abuse, auto theft and theft of a firearm.
He’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail and was slated to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Patrick Montalvo, shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday, the defendant and an unknown co-conspirator forced their way into a residence in the 15000 block of Washington Street, near Hermosa Drive, confronting the elderly occupant, whose identity was not disclosed.
“(They) entered his home, assaulted him and tied him up before burglarizing the residence,” Montalvo alleged.
The burglars fled the location a short time later, and the victim was able to free himself of the restraints and call 911, according to the sergeant.
Paramedics and patrol deputies reached the house within minutes. The senior was treated for minor injuries but not hospitalized, Montalvo said.
“Deputies learned the suspects fled the residence with several handguns and two vehicles,” he said.
A few hours later, deputies in Perris spotted one of the stolen cars and summoned a sheriff’s helicopter crew for assistance in following it. Montalvo said the driver — later identified as Huato — fled when the patrol unit signaled him to pull over, culminating in a pursuit that went westbound into Good Hope.
In the area of Old Road and Gumwood Court, the defendant lost control and plowed into a roadside fence, causing a fire in the car’s engine compartment, the sheriff’s spokesman said.
He said Huato ran away and hid in the brush. County fire personnel arrived moments later and doused the flames consuming the vehicle.
With the help of a K-9 unit, deputies were able to find Huato, who was taken into custody without further incident. He wasn’t injured.
“The second suspect was not located,” Montalvo said. “Investigators are still working to identify and locate that suspect.”
Court records show Huato has prior misdemeanor convictions for illegal possession of a firearm in a vehicle and possession of a handgun in violation of California Department of Justice registration regulations.