Man charged with murder in death of 84-year-old Glendale relative
A man arrested in San Diego County has been charged with murder in the beating death of his 84-year-old relative, Ruben Sanchez, in Glendale.
James Sanchez, 21, was charged Thursday and remanded back into custody in lieu of $1-million bail. He was arrested at a home in El Cajon on Tuesday, one day after Ruben Sanchez’s badly beaten and bloodied body was discovered inside his Glendale apartment.
Authorities have declined to disclose the relation between James Sanchez and the victim, but a family friend told CBS-Los Angeles that he was the step, great-grandson of Ruben Sanchez, and that the two had lived together earlier this year.
“He was a very simple guy, and very friendly,” Jose Valle said of Ruben Sanchez, a Cuban immigrant.
Police responded to a call at 5:30 a.m. Monday from a family member who said their grandfather may have been shot after discovering him bleeding inside his apartment, the Glendale News-Press reported. Officers, though, discovered Ruben Sanchez had instead been severely beaten.
He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he died, police said.
Prosecutors allege that James Sanchez killed Ruben Sanchez “by striking him multiple times,” according to a Los Angeles district attorney’s office.
The death is Glendale’s first homicide since 2009.
If James Sanchez is convicted, he faces a maximum 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said. James Sanchez is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 5.
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Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA
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