Customs and Border Protection officers found more than 250 pounds of liquid meth concealed in the gas tank of a vehicle at the Calexico East Port of Entry. The discovery was made Saturday afternoon. According to CBP, a 52-year-old driver and 46-year-old passenger in a 2002 SUV were applying for admission into the United States.
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A 22-year-old man who stole products from a Desert Hot Springs store while armed with a pistol pleaded guilty today to burglary and obstructing a peace officer and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison. Kevin Dionte Ezekial Davis admitted the felony and misdemeanor counts under a plea agreement with the Riverside County
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Two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of stealing hundreds of Nike products from a train in the Mojave Desert community of Amboy on Wednesday. The crime was first reported at around 6:40 p.m. in the area of Amboy and National Trails Highway. Police were told a train was being actively burglarized by multiple suspects, according
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Manuel Tamayo Valadez, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in jail for the 2020 abduction of a former girlfriend and threatening her at gunpoint. Valadez was accused of driving the woman around the Coachella Valley and firing a handgun out of the car window. A struggle followed and Valadez crashed the car in
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A 51-year-old felon who preyed on two Moreno Valley schoolgirls and tried to abduct one of them pleaded guilty today to attempted kidnapping and was immediately sentenced to 18 months in state prison. Rene Rodriguez Ramirez of Indio admitted the felony count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange
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A suspect was taken into custody following a high-speed pursuit in Desert Hot Springs that put three schools on lockout. The incident started shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Palm Drive and Camino Aventura. Desert Hot Springs police chief Jim Henson told News Channel 3 that a pursuit was initiated after a driver field to yield
Continue Reading A March 12 trial date was scheduled today for a Coachella man accused of molesting a teenager following a baptism celebration. Armando Figueroa Jr., 40, is charged with two counts of lewd acts on a minor and one count each of forcible sexual penetration of a minor and forcible oral copulation of a child, as
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A 38-year-old man was rushed to the hospital after being shot Monday afternoon in Indio. The shooting was reported at around 5:30 p.m. at the Myoma Mobile Home Park in the 79000 block of Avenue 40. Police said the 38-year-old was involved in an altercation with a 34-year-old man. The 34-year-old fired a gun, striking
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A Jurupa Valley man who killed his estranged wife with his nephew’s help to prevent her from taking his home in a divorce — then blamed another man, who was wrongfully convicted of the crime — was bound for California’s Death Row today, while his relative was headed to state prison to serve a life
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A sentencing hearing was suspended today for a 30-year-old motorist who perpetrated a series of unexplained attacks on fellow drivers and one bicyclist throughout Palm Springs and is now seeking another psychological evaluation to determine whether he’s eligible for treatment in lieu of prison. A Riverside jury in March convicted Juaquin Mercer Moraga of Palm
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The court granted a defense motion on Friday to place Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Christian J. Lopez in a misdemeanor diversion program for his alleged involvement in the 2023 crash that killed bicyclist Christopher Thomas. According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, District Attorney Mike Hestrin was opposed to the motion. The court ruling
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A Palm Springs Police Department employee accused of fatally rear-ending a 31-year-old motorcyclist, another off-duty PSPD employee, pleaded not guilty today to second-degree murder and other offenses. Juliana Leigh Granados, 25, of Cathedral City allegedly killed 31-year-old PSPD Community Services Officer Nicholas Griego on Thanksgiving. Along with murder, Granados is charged with DUI gross vehicular
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A man suspected of driving under the influence on Highway 79 in Aguanga allegedly slammed into the rear of a motorcycle, ejecting the rider onto the roadway and inflicting fatal injuries, authorities said today. The suspect, a 74-year-old man from Aguanga, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI resulting in great
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An April 7 trial date was confirmed today for a 23-year-old man accused with two others in a shooting at a Coachella Valley residence. Caillou Marcus Renteria of Coachella is charged with attempted murder, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation for the 2022 attack. During a status hearing at the
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A 20-year-old has been arrested in connection with a shooting at a park in downtown Palm Springs that left two people hospitalized last year. Felipe Vargas was arrested on Jan. 2 at a residence in North Palm Springs, police announced on Thursday. He was charged on Monday with two counts of attempted murder. He pled
Continue Reading Two suspected vandals accused of causing more than $10,000 of damage to public and private property in Coachella Valley made initial court appearances today. Austin Levens of Desert Hot Springs and Jayce Creeden of Rancho Mirage, who were 27 and 23 at the time of arrest, respectively, each pleaded not guilty to a felony count
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A 42-year-old Palm Desert woman accused of selling fentanyl that led to a man’s death must stand trial on a felony count of murder, a judge ruled Wednesday. Tiffany Wright is due back in court on Feb. 5. Wright was arrested on May 3, 2022 by personnel from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Overdose
Continue Reading An arrest has been made in a crash that killed a Palm Springs community service officer on Thanksgiving Day in Cathedral City. On Wednesday, shortly after Noon, police arrested Juliana Granados, 25, of Cathedral City. Granados was also an employee of the Palm Springs Police Department, as was the man killed in the crash. According
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A Palm Springs resident accused of fatally shooting a man in Desert Hot Springs in 2022 must stand trial on a murder charge, a judge ruled today. Richard Douglas Taylor Jr., 33, was held to answer Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He previously pleaded not guilty to a felony murder count —
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A 37-year-old Palm Desert man remained in custody today following an arrest on suspicion of stolen vehicle and weapons-related offenses, among others. Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station personnel responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 74000 block of Leslie Avenue shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department statement.
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