A man was kidnapped, held at gunpoint, savagely beaten, robbed and had his car stolen.
Man brutally beaten, kidnapped and robbed in Canyon Lake. (Image courtesy of Flickr)
The attack took place at the Rodeway Inn on Railroad Canyon Road in Canyon Lake on March 30, officials reported.
Investigators learned the suspects were 22-year-old Ricky Smith and his girlfriend 29-year-old Misty Edwards, a Riverside County Sheriff’s press release stated.
Gang task force officers staked out an area in the 20000 block of Bryant Street in Wildomar in search of the suspects.
As officers conducted surveillance, a white Mercedes Benz driven by a white adult male pulled up with Smith and Edwards in the car.
“The officers were doing a follow up on the case and that’s how they came upon the suspects which led to the pursuit,” Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Albert Martinez explained.
Officers attempted to stop the car and the suspects sped off. A short time later the suspects crashed the car, hopped out and ran away.
Smith and Edwards were quickly apprehended and the driver fled and disappeared into a ravine.
A K-9 unit from the Murrieta Police Department was brought in to root out the third suspect who was found and taken into custody. He was identified as 29-year-old Brian Hatten.
A search of the suspect’s homes and cars turned up many items belonging to the victim.
The three perpetrators were booked on several charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment, conspiracy and evading arrest, Sgt. Sean Brown stated.
If anyone has additional information regarding this crime, please contact Deputy Jason Gore with the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force 951- 210-1000.
Stephanie D. Schulte is a writer/photographer with SWRNN. She can be reached at stephanie.schulte@swrnn.com.
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