Murder suspect held in custody
The relative of an 84-year-old Glendale man was charged with murder Thursday after the elderly man was found severely beaten in his home earlier this week.
James Sanchez, 21, appeared in the Los Angeles Superior County Court in Pasadena, where he was remanded back into custody in lieu of $1-million bail.
James Sanchez’s arraignment was postponed until Dec. 5.
Glendale police detectives and the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force arrested James Sanchez at 5:05 a.m. Tuesday at a home in El Cajon as they followed leads connected to the death of Ruben Sanchez.
At 5:30 a.m. on Monday, a family member called police saying their grandfather, Ruben Sanchez, may have been shot after discovering him bleeding inside his apartment on the 1800 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard.
Police discovered Ruben Sanchez had been severely beaten and was not shot. Detectives initially believed the assault was the result of a burglary.
He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he died, police said.
Prosecutors alleged that James Sanchez struck his relative multiple times, according to a Los Angeles district attorney’s office statement.
Ruben Sanchez’s death is the first murder in Glendale since 2009.
Neighbors described him as a calm and quiet man.
If James Sanchez is convicted of murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
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Follow Veronica Rocha on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA.
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