Female cab driver severely beaten and robbed by three suspects in Hemet, later arrested

News headline from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department:

At around 2:45 a.m. on August 22nd, deputies from the Hemet Station responded to a reported assault at the intersection of Cornell Street and East Johnston Avenue in East Hemet. The victim, a female cab driver in her sixties, was found at the scene with severe head injuries.

The victim reportedly picked up three men from a convenience store at the intersection of Florida Avenue and North Inez Street in Hemet. At their request, she drove to East Hemet and stopped at the intersection of Cornell Street and East Johnston Avenue, where the three men robbed her while assaulting her with a collapsible metal scooter.

All three suspects ran away, leaving the victim behind with severe injuries. She was transported to a local hospital and admitted to an Intensive Care Unit following surgery.

Investigators were called to the scene and went to the convenience store in an attempt to identify the three suspects. Evidence collected at the store led investigators to a residence on the 41000 block of Sunset Lane in East Hemet, approximately one block from the scene of the assault. At the residence, investigators located Marquis White (top right), 21, Leroy Quintana (middle right), 19, and Robert Norton (lower right), 21.

After interviews with the suspects, the weapon was found in the backyard of a nearby residence.

All three suspects are currently in custody and charged with kidnap for ransom, torture, aggravated mayhem, and robbery, with bail set at $3,000,000 each.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Hemet Station at 951-971-3400.