Prosecutor: Cathedral City paddle beating attack was a form of ‘street justice’
Two brothers beat a man with a wooden paddle over two days in Cathedral City as a form of "street justice" because the victim supposedly burglarized the residence of one of the siblings, a prosecutor alleged today.
Carlos Jose Espinoza, 30, and Eduardo Luis Espinoza, 32, both of Cathedral City, were arrested June 1. They are each charged with one count of false imprisonment and two counts of assault on a person causing great bodily injury, along with sentence- enhancing allegations of using a weapon -- a wooden paddle -- during the commission of a felony.
Eduardo Espinoza is additionally charged with one felony count each of robbery, criminal threats and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Both defendants -- who have pleaded not guilty -- appeared at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Thursday for a bail hearing.
In arguing bail should remain at $1 million for both defendants, Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Mendoza shed new light on the nature of the alleged crimes in order to convince Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Hawkins to grant his request.
Mendoza alleged that the victim -- identified in court papers only as 36-year-old "Matthew H." -- was zip-tied and locked in a closet measuring 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep for two days before he was able to escape and seek refuge at a nearby business.
Mendoza alleged that Eduardo Espinoza told detectives following his arrest that the victim broke into his apartment in the 37000 block of Bankside Drive on or around May 30, and, in response, he and his brother delivered a type of "street justice" common in Mexico.
Mendoza said the man suffered serious bruising to much of his backside.
A third defendant -- Genaro Jaime Lozoya, 30, of Indio -- was arrested on June 8. Mendoza alleged that Lozoya's alleged role was to watch the victim and keep him from escaping.
Lozoya is charged with one count each of false imprisonment, assault on a person causing great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon. He has also pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.
Following his escape, the victim called 911 to report the beating and directed police to the Bankside Drive address, where unspecified evidence was collected that backed up his claim, according to Cathedral City police Sgt. Larry Sanfillippo.
The Espinoza brothers were arrested that same day. Hawkins kept bail at $1 million for Eduardo Espinoza, who has prior felony convictions, including for grand theft, and has failed to appear for court hearings several times in the past.
The judge reduced bail from $1 million to $50,000 for Carlos Espinoza, who had no felony convictions in Riverside County. The siblings are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 9.
Lozoya has a felony conviction for receiving stolen property. He is scheduled to appear for a felony settlement conference on June 22.
