Jury selection starts for trial of man accused in violent takeover robbery
Jury selection got underway today for the trial of a 24-year-old man accused of joining his brother in a violent takeover robbery at a Banning cannabis store, where two people were stabbed and another shot.
Raymond Emilio Paul Matus of Beaumont is charged with armed robbery attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felon and inflicting great bodily injury. Matus' case was transferred Friday from the Banning Justice Center to the Riverside Hall of Justice, where Riverside County Superior Court Judge Steven Counelis ruled on motions concerning witnesses, scheduling and admissible evidence.
The judged ordered multiple panels of prospective jurors to the downtown Riverside courthouse Monday for screening as to their availability and qualifications. Opening statements were expected before week's end.
Matus is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
His older brother, Richard Matus Jr., died from a drug overdose at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta in 2022. He was 29 years old.
According to Banning police and court documents, on the night of June 23, 2018, the defendants allegedly targeted the Go Green Calming Solutions marijuana shop at 6020 Ramsey St.
The brothers allegedly burst into the outlet and immediately set about assaulting the employees -- Raymond Matus with a knife and his sibling with a semiautomatic pistol -- according to authorities.
Richard Matus shot a man in the face, at which point several of the victim's coworkers tried to intervene, prompting Raymond Matus to stab them, police allege.
After the victims went to the floor, the defendants allegedly grabbed multiple jars containing cannabis products, then fled in a dark-colored sedan, according to court papers.
The victims called 911, and they were taken to a regional trauma center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. All of the parties, whose identities were not disclosed, have since recovered.
Within two days of investigators circulating security surveillance photographs of the assailants via social media, numerous people reached out to police, confirming the men's identities, according to documents.
A week later, the pair were arrested without incident in San Diego.
Richard Matus had prior convictions for driving under the influence and being a habitual traffic offender. His younger brother has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions. However, he has multiple unresolved cases pending resolution, including for felony theft and assault.
The Matus family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last year against the Riverside County Sheriff's Department in connection with the death of Richard Matus, who reportedly suffered a massive coronary after taking an unspecified quantity of fentanyl.
The plaintiffs allege jail staff were deficient in their response and pointed to wider, systemic problems caused by the sheriff, his administrators and the county as a whole for setting the stage for their loved one's loss.
The defendants' mother, Lisa Matus, has appeared before the county Board of Supervisors to publicly air grievances about her son's death and the inordinate amount of time coroner's officials took in responding to her questions and requests for information.
