Two La Quinta residents pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from vehicle burglaries in the Indian Wells area. Francisco Ferratt, 24, entered guilty pleas to three felony counts of burglary during a felony settlement conference Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, case records indicated. Two felony counts of vandalism, one felony count
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Drive safe and sober during the upcoming Christmas holiday, or face consequences, the California Highway Patrol warned today. The agency will initiate its annual Christmastime “maximum enforcement period” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when all available officers will deploy to catch drunken or drug-impaired drivers, speeders and other scofflaws. The MEP will conclude on Wednesday
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An ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of harassing and abducting a woman was charged today with kidnapping and other offenses. Alexander Ravy Vanny, 33, of Hemet was arrested Thursday following an investigation by the sheriff’s department’s Special Victims Unit that was initiated earlier this year. Along with kidnapping, Vanny is charged with stalking, unauthorized use
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Charges are expected to be filed today against one of eight suspects police connected to a physical altercation in Palm Springs, after another person arrested in a vehicle that was allegedly involved in the fight pleaded not guilty to multiple counts. Hemet resident Jonah Wilkerson, 20, is expected to enter pleas to two felony
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Firefighters quickly contained a blaze in a Palm Desert duplex today, preventing it from spreading beyond the garage, authorities said. The fire broke out shortly after 8:45 a.m. in a single-story, two-unit duplex in the 73000 block of Amir Drive, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. Crews found “heavy smoke from the garage,” according
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The last of three felons who conspired in burglarizing an illegal marijuana grow in Anza, where the 64-year-old proprietor was gunned down, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jesse Robert Thurbush, 43, of Victorville, was convicted in May of first-degree murder for the 2019 slaying of James Cidney
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The crew of a military helicopter flying out of Camp Pendleton made a fiery but non-injury emergency landing today alongside Interstate 5 north of Oceanside. The chopper touched down in an open area west of the freeway and north of Aliso Creek Rest Area on the grounds of the northern San Diego County military base
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Palm Springs International Airport today launched its first-ever nonstop flights to Washington, D.C., via United Airlines. The route marks the first direct connection between the Coachella Valley and the nation’s capital. Flights, operating on a daily basis through April 30, will be chartered on Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, according to airport officials.
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A woman, her father and her boyfriend were convicted today of charges stemming from the ambush and fatal stabbing of a 29-year-old man in a Cathedral City park, after the woman falsely claimed he had raped her. Rena Lizette Alaniz, 24, of Thousand Palms was convicted on Thursday of a felony count of murder,
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Prosecutors today addressed the dismissal of charges against a 38-year-old Palm Springs man who was accused of assaulting a resident with an iron during a home invasion. Taylor Donald Hurst was released Wednesday morning after a judge at Indio’s Larson Justice Center dismissed felony counts of robbery, assault with a non-firearm deadly weapon to cause
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Two Inland Empire lawmakers tomorrow will publicly call for the resignation of Riverside Unified School District’s superintendent based on policies that the pair argue are hostile to girls by promoting transgender policies that favor biological males. “Riverside Unified has failed to protect young girls on campus, most recently at King High School in my district,”
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A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who is a resident of Corona has agreed to plead guilty to a federal civil rights charge for assaulting a transgender man who was exercising his First Amendment rights by “flipping off” the lawman, officials announced today. Joseph Benza III, 36, who was assigned to the Norwalk Station
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Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to bolster the statewide response to bird flu in dairy cows — an outbreak that has now expanded from the Central Valley to Southern California. According to the governor’s office, Avian influenza A, or H5N1, was detected last week in cattle at four Southern California dairies. The
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Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Brian Williams was placed on administrative leave following an investigation into a bomb threat he allegedly made against City Hall earlier this year, Mayor Karen Bass’ office announced today. The Mayor’s Office was notified that the FBI searched Williams’ home Tuesday as part of their investigation, according
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New evidence has surfaced in a four-year-long investigation into the shooting deaths of seven foreign nationals who were connected to an illegal marijuana grow in Aguanga, authorities said today. The two men and five women, who had emigrated from Laos, were gunned down on the night of Sept. 7, 2020, at a remote hillside property
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The most senior member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors closed out his political career today, attending his final board meeting, where he was lauded by colleagues who recognized him as “very principled” and a “mentor.” Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, 64, of Lakeland Village will officially retire on Jan. 1, but Tuesday was the last
Continue Reading Jury deliberations began today in the trial of a woman, her father and boyfriend accused of luring a 29-year-old man to a Cathedral City park for an ambush that led to him being fatally stabbed because the woman falsely claimed he had raped her. Rena Lizette Alaniz, 24, of Thousand Palms, Carlos Antonio Ruiz, 44,
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A 23-year-old man accused of killing two people who were found in a burned vehicle was held to answer today. A judge ruled Monday that Luis Armenta of Indio must stand trial on two counts of murder with sentence-enhancing allegations of having more than one victim and discharge of a firearm causing great bodily harm,
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A pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations was killed today in an on-duty helicopter crash in the far southeastern reaches of San Diego County. The federal air-interdiction agent was flying a Eurocopter AS350 that went down for unknown reasons about 10:15 a.m. in the Potrero area, off the 1800 block
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Palm Desert city officials issued two traffic alerts today notifying residents of upcoming road closures. San Pablo Avenue will be shut down for a six-hour stretch starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday between the College of the Desert roundabout and City Hall entrance to allow workers to remove a tree, according to city spokesperson Thomas Soules.
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