2 men sentenced for beating and robbing a Valley elderly couple

Two men admitted robbing and beating an elderly couple at their Desert Hot Springs home and must serve lengthy prison sentences.

Edward Inzunza, 22, and Antonio Sanchez, 29, both of Perris, entered guilty pleas during their scheduled preliminary hearing Thursday at the Banning courthouse and were sentenced to 15- and 10-year terms, respectively.

Both men pleaded guilty to burglary, robbery, carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, elder cruelty and making criminal threats, with sentence enhancements for using a firearm and committing a robbery against senior citizens.

The men targeted a couple living in the 68100 block of Via Domingo late on the morning of June 3rd. The senior citizens were beaten and held at gunpoint by the defendants, who took valuables from the home, police said. Inzunza then took off in the victims’ truck, while Sanchez drove off in a red Toyota pickup truck, said Sgt. Gus Paiz.

One of the victims noted the Toyota’s license plate number, and police determined that the truck was registered to Sanchez. The following day, Inzunza was stopped by sheriff’s deputies in Perris while driving Sanchez’s truck. He was arrested, and property taken from the Desert Hot Springs home was found inside the truck. Sanchez was arrested later that day at his home without incident.