Photographs showing loan agents Lamond Dean and Luis Garcia’s injuries, he said, were consistent with their testimonies regarding the incidents that allegedly occurred Oct. 20 in a residential office in south Glendale.
All defendants face two counts of torture; two counts of false imprisonment by violence; two counts of assault by means likely to produce great bodily harm; two counts of assault with a deadly weapon; two counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of second-degree robbery.
Gonzales was charged with the additional count of possessing wood knuckles as a deadly weapon.
Parmelee and Gonzales’ bails were reduced from $1 million to $500,000. Parker’s bail dropped from $1 million to $200,000.
But Weston and Canez’s bails remained at more than $2 million.
Dean and Garcia alleged during the hearing that they were disrobed, beaten, tied up, whipped with extension cords and threatened with dismemberment.
Garcia claimed that he and Dean had been working with Parker and Gonzales on loan modifications for numerous clients.
But he testified their business arrangement went sour when Dean, Parker and Gonzales pushed him out.
Attorney Stephen Wegman, who’s representing Parker and Gonzales, argued that his clients had little to no involvement in hurting the loan agents.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Glendale Police Det. Arthur Frank testified about the torture Dean endured and described his injuries, including a large cut on his head and marks on his body from being whipped.
Glendale Police Department detectives are also investigating Dean and Garcia for alleged fraud, he said.
Defense attorneys brought in four witnesses to testify against Garcia and Dean’s alleged fraud scheme, but Hegarty said the case wasn’t based on their business dealings.
Aurora Buchanan on Tuesday testified that Garcia and Dean had conned her out of $12,500 when she hired them to help her modify her home loan. She said her home eventually foreclosed.
“The bank is harassing me almost every day . . . I don’t have any more money,” she said.
