UPDATE | A fourth person has been charged with murder and other counts in the Downey home robbery that left one man dead and involved a Long Beach resident.
Today, Michael Harrod, 24, was charged with helping to mastermind the break-in and driving the three other suspects, including Long Beach resident Henry Willie Sao, to the Downey home of 59-year-old Jim Rudometkin.
Rudometkin was eventually found dead, and police believe the victim was specifically targeted by the suspects.
Harrod was also charged with home-invasion robbery and first-degree burglary with a person present, according to the District Attorney’s Office. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
Sakaopo Atanasio Folau, 17, Anaheim resident Paul Darvis Misikei, 18 and Sao, 27, were each charged with three felony counts, including murder, home invasion robbery and residential burglary with a person present.
A special circumstance allegation in the charging document states that the defendants committed the murder during the course of a robbery and residential burglary, district attorney officials stated in a release.
The felony complaint includes a special allegation that Misikei, Sao and Folau committed great bodily injury upon the victim during the commission of a crime, the release added.
All suspects are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, February 10 for arraignment.
City News Service contributed to this report.
PREVIOUSLY: Long Beach Man and Two Others Charged with Murder After Fatal Downey Home Robbery
01/20/16 at 2:59PM | A teenager and two men, including a Long Beach resident, were charged Wednesday with murder after they allegedly broke into a Downey home and killed the homeowner, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Sakaopo Atanasio Folau, 17, Anaheim resident Paul Darvis Misikei, 18, and Long Beach man Henry Willie Sao, 27 were each charged with three felony counts, including murder, home invasion robbery and residential burglary with a person present.
A special circumstance allegation in the charging document states that the defendants committed the murder during the course of a robbery and residential burglary, district attorney officials stated in a release.
The felony complaint includes a special allegation that Misikei, Sao and Folau committed great bodily injury upon the victim during the commission of a crime, the release added.
The defendants were scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday at the Downey Superior Courthouse where prosecutors planned to ask that they be held on no bail.
On Sunday, January 17, Misikei and Folau allegedly broke into the Downey home of Realtor Jim Rudometkin, 59, and shortly therafter Sao followed, officials stated.
During that time, a neighbor saw the attack and called police, prosecutors said.
The defendants tried to flee the scene when police arrived at the home but Misikei and Sao were soon found and arrested. Folau was apprehended two days later.
Police found Rudometkin—a Cal State Long Beach graduate—bound and unresponsive, officials stated. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
If convicted, Misikei and Sao could face the death penalty if prosecutors decide to seek it later, according to the district attorney’s office. Folau faces up to life in state prison if convicted as charged, because of his age.
Misikei and Sao are currently being held on $1 million bail at Men’s Central Jail, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Inmate Information Center.
Photo of victim Jim Rudometkin courtesy of Coldwell Banker Alliance Realty.