One of two men arrested in connection with West Valinda home-invasion released

WEST VALINDA — One of two men arrested in connection with a home invasion robbery in West Valinda earlier this week has been released from jail, officials said.
Francisco Aceves, 20, of West Valinda and Juan Morfin, 24, of La Puente, were arrested after being spotted in the area following the Thursday’s 12:30 p.m. robbery at a home on Sandia Avenue, officials said.
Aceves was released from jail without charges Friday afternoon, according to county booking records. Officials at the sheriff’s Industry Station said he was released pending further investigation.
Morfin, however, remained jailed Saturday in lieu of $205,000 bail pending his scheduled arraignment Monday in El Monte Superior Court.
One of the victims of the robbery, who asked that her name be withheld for fear of retaliation, said she had doubts that deputies had arrested the men responsible for the robbery.
A family member of Morfin, who also asked that her name be withheld for fear of retaliation, said she can’t believe he was involved in the robbery.
“It just doesn’t make sense. It’s not in his character. He’s not on drugs. He’s not a bad kid,” the relative said. “He just happened to fit the profile.”
Morfin had been with family members at a nearby home just before the robbery, and his mother had just sent him to the store when he was arrested, the family member said.
Morfin may have run from deputies who tried to talk to him because of an outstanding warrant related to a fishing violation, the family member said.
“He has anxiety,” she added. “He rarely leaves (home). I just think he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Robbers forced there way into the home, which a man and his girlfriend had been working to fix up following a fire last month, according to investigators and the female victim. The man is in the process of inheriting the home from his father, who died last year, and the house had no fire insurance.
The homeowner had cashed out $10,000 from a life insurance policy to help repair the home, and it was the large amount of cash that was targeted in the home-invasion robbery, officials said.
A third robber, who fled the area in a black Toyota Corolla, remained at large, officials added.
The couple was pistol-whipped and kicked during the crime, said the woman, however they did not suffer serious injuries.
Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email