Parolee arrested after high-speed chase previously burglarized murder victim’s home
Palm Springs police officers investigating the murder of a senior citizen found dead in his Palm Springs home on the same day that a parolee — who was convicted in 2009 of burglarizing the victim’s home — was arrested following a high-speed chase.
Read: PSPD arrest parolee following high-speed pursuit in south Palm Springs
Jonathan Flora, 30, was arrested Tuesday afternoon, hours after police discovered a man’s body inside his home at 2290 Park Drive. Authorities have not yet publicly identified the “elderly” victim, nor revealed the cause of death, but Sgt. William Hutchinson said it was being investigated as a homicide
Police released a statement late Wednesday acknowledging the connection between Flora and the homicide victim, but stressed that no arrests had yet been made in the man’s murder.
“While investigating this case, PSPD detectives became aware of Jonathan Flora’s association with the victim of the homicide and location of occurrence,” the statement read. “The case is still active and ongoing and no arrests have been made in this homicide at this time.”
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Flora was spotted at 1:17 p.m. Tuesday driving a vehicle on southbound Palm Canyon Drive with three passengers and refused to pull over, triggering a chase, police said. Flora reached speeds of 90 mph on Palm Canyon before driving onto the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, where the vehicle came to a rest near the
trading post, police said.
Members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians fully cooperated with the PSPD, and all four occupants of the vehicle were detained, police said.
The passengers were released after being interviewed, and Flora was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of violating parole.
Along with the burglary conviction, Flora was convicted in 2012 of making criminal threats against a man identified only as “Ivan Doe” in court documents, which state that Flora threatened the victim with a “fixed blade knife.”
Flora, who is being held without bail, is expected to appear in court Thursday.
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