Month: November 2009

INDIAN WELLS – Sergeant Gus Paiz took the stage with his fellow Desert Hot Springs police officers and members of the Riverside County District attorney’s office. The group represented the hundreds of federal, state and local officers involved in Operation Falling Sun, the largest gang raid in Riverside County history. “It was part of history.

PALM DESERT – “Our accelerator’s stuck. We’re in trouble!” A passenger called 911 from the back seat of a 2009 Lexus as it went out of control. “We’re approaching an intersection! Hold on! Pray!” All four people in the car died after it crashed into another car and ultimately burst into flames. More than 2,000

LA QUINTA – A valley teen is preparing for a state-wide competition, judging her academics and future goals. The prize is something she can’t afford to lose. “My mom and I thought it would be a good pageant since it’s not beauty based,” says Daryne Romero, Miss Teen La Quinta 2010. It’s not your typical

HEMET -A Hemet girl who was reported missing along with her boyfriend and another boy was found today, but the fates of the other two teenagers remained uncertain following the discovery of human remains in the backyard of one boy’s house. “These are fragmented remains, many of which were charred,” said Hemet police Lt. Dean

PALM SPRINGS – Some passengers say this was one of the smoothest travel holidays in recent memory with some flights arriving early. Passengers fill the baggage claim area at Palm Springs International Airport. When many are used to complaining about holiday travel delays, this time arrivals actually had something good to say. “Actually, the plane

COACHELLA – Hundreds of families lined up at the Jordan Christian Academy to get their hands on free Thanksgiving meals. “Last Thursday, we didn’t have one turkey in our freezer. And we needed 600-800,” says Pastor Joe Jordan, of Jordan Christian Ministries. “All of a sudden, five days later, we have over 1,100 turkeys and

The Riverside County Fire Department Stations 36 and 37, along with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department are continuing to accept toy donations through December 20th for families in Desert Hot Springs. This is our second annual DHS Toy Drive for the families in Desert Hot Springs. New toys can be taken anytime to Riverside

INDIO – Gambling with your rights. That’s what one Palm Desert woman says after a severe injury at a local Indian casino. Tory Fretz can only watch as people play tennis at Palm Desert’s Jackie Cooper Tennis Academy. She was a women’s tennis pioneer in the 1970’s. But, then, last October, Tory got hit by

HEMET – One after another, hundreds line up to get a free H1N1 flu vaccine shot at Riverside County’s first mass flu vaccine clinic. Adriana Langston brought her 15 month-old son Tristan in for the shot.Langston says, “I just worry, it wasn’t an easy decision, you know what they’ve been saying about the kids getting

INDIO – Deputy District Attorney Victoria Weiss spent more than 2 hours during closing arguments telling jurors why Miguel Najera should be found guilty. Weiss says Najera, a confessed gang member, was a month and a half out of jail and had something to prove to his gang, the Barrios Cathedral City gang. “He was

INDIO This week, families will sit down and give thanks for what they have. “We’ve been abundantly blessed with turkeys,” says Darla Burkett with the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission. About 800 frozen turkeys if you’re counting. But themission still needs help, so that hundreds of less fortunate people can have a happy Thanksgiving dinner. “We

DESERT HOT SPRINGS – Police believe the combination of speed and alcohol caused a deadly car wreck in Desert Hot Springs early Sunday morning. Sixteenyear-old Maria Perez of Desert Hot Springs was killed when a FordMustangtraveling in excess of 80 miles an hour, hit a parked truck and flipped over in a dirt lot on

Enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the The Living Desert’s Wildlights Holiday Lights Festival, select nights November 25th-January 2nd, 6pm-9pm. Just fill out the form below!

PALM DESERT -A fire behind a church in Palm Desert earlyTuesday afternoon has been put out. Cal Fire says a transformer blew causing powerlines to come down on some palm trees. Two homes were evacuated and power went out in some of the area. “At first I heard a pop and some smoke off in

INDIO — Residents of Towne Street say a burned down home has become a hazardous playground for children. Five months after the fire, neighbors want to know when the city will tear this house down. News Channel 3 gets answers. Firefighters tried, but couldn’t save much in this Indio house fire. Nobody was injured when

LA QUINTA -A year-old boy nearly drowned in a pool at a La Quinta home today, but was pulled out of the water and rushed to an Indio hospital, authorities said. The child was unconscious and unresponsive when found floating in the backyard pool in the 51500 block of Avenida Vallejo around 2:15 p.m., authorities

PALM SPRINGS -Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh say they’ve arrested eight people in a large online child pornography ring that required potential members to share images to show they weren’t in law enforcement. Records indicate more than 100 people may be involved. Authorities contend Stephen Sims, who now lives inSan Leandro, California, and recently just moved

KESQ.com News Services INDIO -Jurors began deliberating today in the murder trial of a reputed gang member who faces a possible death sentence if convicted of shooting a Cathedral City man during a robbery. Miguel Valdivia Najera, 28, is charged with first-degree murder, robbery and being a felon in possession of a gun for the

BERMUDA DUNES/CATHEDRAL CITY -Two separate armed robberies last night in the Coachella Valley. The first in Cathedral City where police say two suspects followed a couple from the Jack in the Box near Ramon and Gene Autry to Whispering Palms near Baristo and robbed them at gunpoint around 7:45pm. Police say the man that was

SAN DIEGO -Small earthquakes struck both ends of California on Tuesday but no damage or injuries are reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-3.9 undersea quake struck at 6:34 a.m. west of San Diego. It was centered 23 miles southeast of Navy-owned San Clemente Island. A magnitude-3.4 tremor followed at 12:12 p.m. Earlier, a