DHS calls for special meeting on recent violent crime

31-year-old Maria Duarte is the fifth victim of homicide in Desert Hot Springs this year. Police are still looking for the gunman who shot her in the early hours of Sunday morning near Palm Drive and Pierce Boulevard.

“I don’t think anyone feels safe here. If you’re not a police officer there isn’t any hope,” said one DHS resident, who moved to the city in 2011. She asked us to keep her identity private for safety reasons.

This sense of hopelessness is something we heard from more than one person who calls DHS home. They feel not much can be done to change what’s happening in their city.

“You know what I have no idea what the city can do. I really don’t. They have no hope, I think that’s what a lot of people do, they have no hope,” said Joliene Johnson, who moved to DHS in 2004.

“They need more money for the Desert Hot Springs police. They’re financially strapped and I don’t know how the economy will resolve that,” said Roger Robertson, who has lived in DHS for 37 years.

Hearing some residents feel this kind of desperation about the future of DHS doesn’t discourage Mayor Adam Sanchez.

“I think what they need to do is have the faith in the community. We’ve been through a financial emergency and it’s a combined community effort,” Sanchez said. “There are families who need to take more of an effort to work with their children and their youth.”

The city announced Monday night it will hold a special meeting this Thursday to talk about the city’s recent surge in violent crime. It will be held at 6 p.m.at the Carl May Community Center.

“We’re only going to solve this by working together,” Sanchez added.

But not everyone is convinced starting a conversation will spark the positive changes needed.

“It’s a good idea but what’s the use of talking about it if nothing’s going to get done,” said the resident who moved to DHS in 2011. “We can talk about it all day long but are we going get some results?”