Public Safety
Man in 2020 Armed Robbery Gets Four Years in State Prison
INDIO (CNS) – A man who was involved in an armed robbery that included use of multiple AK-47s inside the gated community that houses the Arnold Palmer PGA West Golf Course in La Quinta was sentenced to four years in prison, officials said Tuesday.
Noe Millan Mora, 31, along with Luis Jose Leyva Jr., 34, of Desert Hot Springs and Fernando Leal Jr., 42, of Indio, pleaded guilty Friday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to four felony counts of robbery and two misdemeanor counts of assault with a gun, and admitted to sentence-enhancing firearm allegations, according to court records.
Leyva and Leal additionally pleaded guilty to one felony count of being a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, according to court records.
Mora was immediately sentenced to four years in state prison, Riverside County District Attorney’s office spokeswoman Amy McKenzie told City News Service on Tuesday. The minutes for Mora were not immediately available Friday.
Leyva was sentenced to eight years in state prison and Leal was granted formal probation for three years.
Garrett Basich, 33, of Desert Hot Springs pleaded guilty Aug. 26, 2022, to one felony count of robbery and was immediately sentenced to seven years in state prison.
The charges stem from an armed robbery on Dec. 20, 2020, in the 79000 block of Olympia Fields, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The robbers bashed the victims’ heads with guns, rendering the two men unconscious, before stealing their possessions and fleeing the scene.
According to prosecutors, two unidentified men went to a home at the PGA West community shortly after midnight when they were attacked by multiple men who entered the room with firearms and hit them in the head until they passed out. They woke up to an empty home.
Mora said during a Miranda interview that Leyva was the one handling the gun that was discharged and struck one of the victims in the face causing him to fall unconscious, according to prosecutors. Mora also said that he threw an unknown object at one of the victim’s head and some money was taken while the two victims were unconscious.
During a Miranda interview, Leal said that he was also in the residence at the time, but didn’t remember anything because he was high, according to prosecutors. It was unknown what role Basich played in the robbery.
All suspects excluding Mora have prior documented felony convictions in Riverside County.
Leyva has prior felony convictions including burglary and vehicle theft, Basich has three felony convictions for grand theft and Leal has a felony conviction for kidnapping.
Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
By: Pristine Villarreal
May 30, 2023
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