Suspect pleads not guilty to robbing, injuring 93-year-old

A San Fernando Valley man accused of injuring a 93-year-old woman during a robbery in Newport Beach has pleaded not guilty to five felonies.

Police arrested Cosme Aleandro Ibarra-Guel, 31, of Arleta, on July 27. He was charged with robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and injuring an elderly person, according to a Newport Beach Police Department news release.

Three of the charges are enhanced because the victim is older than 70.

On June 30, police said, Ibarra-Guel snatched the woman’s purse near San Joaquin Hills and San Miguel roads and knocked her to the ground.

Witnesses reported seeing a suspect flee in a black truck, which left police with little to go on.

Ibarra-Guel is being held without bail at the Theo Lacy jail in Orange. He is due back at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach for a pretrial hearing Monday.

— Joseph Serna