Torture and other felony charges were filed Wednesday against a 23-year-old probationer accused in a domestic violence attack that left the victim with severe injuries.
Manuel Hector Gomez of Blythe was arrested Friday in the 18100 block of Maple Drive in the unincorporated community of Mesa Verde west of Blythe and is being held at the Blythe jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Along with torture, Gomez is charged with robbery, spousal abuse and false imprisonment. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
According to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Reynoso, deputies were sent about noon on Friday to a home on Maple Drive in response to a report of a domestic violence incident.
Reynoso said the victim, whose name was withheld, suffered “extensive injuries consistent with an assault.” He also said deputies obtained a search warrant for a house where unspecified evidence related to the assault was recovered prior to the suspect’s arrest.
He had been out on bail in connection with an Oct. 3 shooting in the 17500 block of Palowalla Road in which a 22-year-old man was killed.
Gomez was previously charged with negligent discharge of a firearm, along with two counts of possessing a firearm while on probation, but not with murder. He is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges on Feb. 18.
His co-defendant in that case, 20-year-old Brandon Jesus Hernandez, pleaded not guilty to murder and other felony charges Tuesday at the Blythe Courthouse.
Gomez was serving a three-year probation term stemming from a 2019 misdemeanor conviction for possessing brass knuckles. He has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!