Brother in 2021 Paddle Beating to be Sentenced Friday Following Guilty Pleas

INDIO (CNS) – One of two brothers accused of beating a man with a wooden paddle over two days in Cathedral City as a form of "street justice" will be sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to felony charges.

Eduardo Luis Espinoza, 34, along with his brother Carlos Jose Espinoza, 32, and Genaro Jaime Lozoya, 31, pleaded guilty Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to felony charges stemming from the paddle beating assault on a man who was locked in a closet for two days in 2021.

The brothers were charged with one felony count of false imprisonment and two felony counts of assault on a person causing great bodily injury, along with sentence-enhancing allegations of using a weapon — a wooden paddle — during the commission of a felony, according to court records. Eduardo Espinoza was additionally charged with one felony count each of robbery, criminal threats and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Eduardo Espinoza pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a person causing great bodily injury and admitted to the allegation of using a weapon during a felony, according to court records. He had all other charges dismissed and is set to be sentenced Friday morning.

His brother pleaded guilty to all charges and was immediately sentenced to 36 days in county jail and three years of probation.

Lozoya pleaded guilty to one felony count each of false imprisonment, assault on a person causing great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon to cause great bodily injury, according to court records. He also admitted to a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a weapon during a felony. He was immediately sentenced to 108 days in county jail and three years of probation.

On June 17, 2021, when arguing that bail should remain at $1 million for both defendants, Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Mendoza shed light on the nature of the crimes.

Mendoza said the victim — identified in court papers only as 36-year- old "Matthew H." — was zip-tied and locked in a closet measuring 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep for two days before he was able to escape and seek refuge at a nearby business.

Eduardo Espinoza told detectives following his arrest that the victim broke into his apartment in the 37000 block of Bankside Drive on or around May 30, 2021, and, in response, he and his brother delivered a type of "street justice" common in Mexico, Mendoza said. Lozoya’s role was to watch the victim and keep him from escaping.

The man suffered serious bruising to much of his backside, according to Mendoza.

After escaping, the victim called 911 to report the beating and directed police to the Bankside Drive address, where unspecified evidence was collected that backed up his claim, according to Sgt. Larry Sanfillippo of the Cathedral City Police Department. The Espinoza brothers were arrested that same day.

Eduardo Espinoza has prior felony convictions including for grand theft, and has failed to appear for court hearings several times in the past, officials said. Carlos Espinoza has no other felony convictions in Riverside County. Lozoya has one other felony conviction for receiving stolen property.

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