Moreno Valley man arrested after 2 women escape his home claiming they were tortured, locked up
A convicted felon is accused of holding two women in his Moreno Valley residence against their will, and torturing and assaulting them with a stun gun until they were able to escape.
The suspect, Gilberto Murillo Puga Jr., 53, claimed that the two women were burglars, which is why he called 911 in the first place.
Puga was arrested Monday following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation. He was charged Wednesday with false imprisonment and torture.
He is also charged with two counts of assault with a stun gun and one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Puga is currently being held in lieu of $1 million bail and was slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday.
According to investigators, patrol deputies were first called to Puga's house in the 26000 block of Prairie Dog Lane at around 9:20 a.m. on Sunday to investigate reports of a burglary.
As they neared the location, 911 dispatchers received another call from witnesses saying two women "were at Puga's residence, screaming for help."
"Upon arrival, deputies located the two females walking away from Puga's residence," said RSO in a statement. "Puga was uncooperative with deputies and left the location. The investigation revealed that the two females had not burglarized Puga's residence, but had been locked in the residence, held against their will and tortured."
Authorities did not release any information on the identities of the victims. It remains unclear why they were at the house in the first place.
Puga was arrested without further incident on Monday, after he was located in Hemet. He has a prior history, including convictions for vehicle theft, battery on a peace officer and DUI.
Family members claim that Puga is mentally ill and should be kept in a treatment facility.
"I grew up with him, I love him," said Puga's cousin Mark Glasser. "But it's crazy to see him like this."
Glasser says that Puga was just recently released from a center in Riverside County for treatment on bipolar depression and schizophrenia. He says that on top of this, his cousin is also addicted to drugs and suffering the lingering effects of loss after recent deaths in the family.
"He's never really healed, but they say he is so they let him back out on the streets," Glasser said. "It's almost like, you cut a lion loose, what is he gonna do? He's gonna get hungry, he's gonna go bite somebody. The lion belongs in the zoo."
Anyone who has information about the case or may have had a similar encounter with Puga is asked to call investigators at (951)486-6700.
