California felon accused of kidnapping, torturing women told police victims were burglars

A California felon accused of accused of kidnapping and torturing two women in his home allegedly told police that they were burglars. 

Gilberto Puga, 53, of Moreno Valley, is charged with false imprisonment and torture and is being held on $1 million bail.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office initially received a call on the morning of May 14 from Puga, who reported that two women had burglarized his residence on the 26000 block of Prairie Dog Lane.

Authorities later received a phone call from two females at Puga's residence "screaming for help," the sheriff's office said in a press release.

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Deputies saw the two victims walking away from Puga's residence upon arrival.

Investigators determined "that the two females had not burglarized Puga’s residence but had been locked in Puga’s residence, held against their will, and tortured," the sheriff's office said.

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A criminal complaint against Puga obtained by local news outlet KTLA 5 says the suspect allegedly held the two victims in his enclosed patio for more than 30 minutes while he tortured them with a stun gun.

Puga was arrested the next day.

The suspect has a criminal history and bad reputation among neighbors, according to KTLA. Eddie De Leon told the outlet that Puga approached his 18-year-old daughter outside their home in February of last year.

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"He pulls up and blocks her in our driveway," De Leon, who now has a restraining order against Puag, said. "He comes up and starts telling her how pretty she was and because it was also Valentine’s Day weekend, that if she doesn’t have a date, he’d love to take her out on a date."

Another neighbor named Sammy said the suspect threatened to kill her family.

"He said he was going to come and kill me, he was going to kill everyone in the house, he was going to get people from L.A. to come and shoot my house," Sammy told KTLA.

Authorities are asking anyone who has had "any contact with Puga under similar circumstances or any information with this case to call Investigator Robert Castellanos or Deputy Daisy Ayala" at (951) 486-6700.

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