DHS couple accused of making weapons, explosives agree to plea deal
A Desert Hot Springs couple accused of illegally manufacturing weapons and explosives pleaded guilty to some -- but not all -- of the charges against them today and were immediately sentenced to probation.
Kevin Boykin, 21, and Naomi Medina, 22, were arrested in June 2019 following a Desert Hot Springs Police Department investigation that stemmed from a gun recovered during a carjacking.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Boykin pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of a destructive device other than fixed ammunition and was sentenced to two years of formal probation. Medina pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of failure to apply a serial number to a manufactured weapon and was sentenced to one year of informal probation.
Boykin was also barred from possessing "any firearm, deadly weapon, ammunition, weapon-related paraphernalia, or incendiary device" during his probation term, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors dismissed various gun- and explosives-related charges as part of the plea deal, including one count of possession of a destructive device or explosive without a permit, a felony, which both defendants initially faced. Medina was additionally charged with possessing ammunition within five years of being released from a mental health facility, a felony, which was dismissed as part of the deal. In a preliminary hearing last August at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Superior Court Judge Jessica P. Silvers ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for the defendants to proceed to trial in the case.
The investigation stemmed from a gun recovered during a carjacking that was traced back to an alleged weapons and explosives manufacturing operation at a home in the 67700 block of Hatchet Cactus Drive, according to police and prosecutors.
The defendants were arrested on June 26, 2019, when investigators served a search warrant at the residence that turned up evidence indicative of manufacturing handguns and rifles'' and "materials to build explosive devices,'' according to a Desert Hot Springs police statement.
