A 41-year-old former dump truck driver who caused a deadly 1,000-acre blaze in Calimesa by intentionally dropping flaming debris from his rig in the middle of a Santa Ana windstorm was on probation today after admitting felony charges. Antonio Ornelas Velazquez of Desert Hot Springs pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter
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The Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station Investigations Bureau has identified the man suspected of robbing two Palm Desert banks earlier this year. On July 23, investigators located the suspect, a 59-year-old resident of Anaheim, in the 20 block of W. Beacon Avenue in Anaheim. He was taken into custody and subsequently booked into the Larry D.
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Update 7/22/24 Police confirmed that a juvenile suspect was arrested in connection with the incident. The altercation was revealed to have been a stabbing that left two people injured. One person was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no update on the second person, who was hospitalized on Friday. Original Report 7/19/24 At 9:28
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A September trial date was set today for a 39-year-old man suspected of driving under the influence and causing a traffic collision in the Thermal area that left one man dead and another person seriously injured. Along with murder, Coachella resident Antonio Tellez Leon is also charged with one felony count each of driving under
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More than $1 million worth of cocaine was found hidden in an SUV at the U.S. Border Patrol Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. The incident started when a white SUV approached the U.S. Border Patrol Highway 86 immigration checkpoint last Monday at around 2:50 p.m. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, during the primary
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Three people were detained after a bank robbery in Palm Springs Thursday afternoon. At approximately 5:10 P.M., Palm Springs Police Department (PSPD) received a call reporting an attempted armed robbery at the Wells Fargo on Vista Chino and Sunrise Way. According to PSPD, a man had entered the bank and contacted a teller. He then
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A convicted felon who killed a Desert Hot Springs man while vandalizing his property in a feud connected to a business transaction was sentenced today to 50 years to life in state prison. A Banning jury in May convicted James John Angle, 48, of Indio of first-degree murder for the 2018 death of Joseph Gimino.
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A San Bernardino County man has been arrested for owning an illegal weapon and ammunition. On Tuesday, deputies from the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station coordinated with the California State Parole Fugitive Task Force in a joint operation to locate wanted felons. California State Parole was actively looking for Dakota Blaise-Parra, a 25-year-old resident of Twentynine
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One person was killed and two others were injured after a shooting in Desert Hot Springs Wednesday afternoon. The violence was reported at 4:53 p.m. on Two Bunch Palms Trail in front of Desert Springs Middle School. Details were limited. DHSPD Chief Jim Henson confirmed at the scene that the two injured people were rushed
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A Colton man pleaded guilty Wednesday to his involvement in a Palm Desert jewelry store robbery more than two years ago and was immediately sentenced to three years in prison. Demetrius Thornton, 25, entered the guilty plea to a felony robbery charge at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. A related charge of assault
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A convicted felon who gunned down a Riverside motel guest after the victim punched him was convicted today of first-degree murder. A Riverside jury deliberated less than a day before finding Robert Donald Intong, 48, of Desert Hot Springs guilty of the 2021 slaying of 31-year-old Cole William Birchard of Riverside. Along with the murder
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An Arizona man pleaded guilty to multiple charges today and was immediately sentenced to jail time and probation for illegally smuggling firearms and ammunition across a state border. Alexis Ayala Molina, 22, of Phoenix, pleaded guilty at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one of 29 original counts of assault weapon possession and two
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A GoFundMe page has launched in connection with the killing of a Desert Hot Springs man on Friday night. Christian Salas, 31, tragically died in a homicide shooting and is survived by his wife, Rachel Salas, and their six children. Salas organized the GoFundMe to put her husband to rest. Salas wrote, “I’m asking for help
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Five Riverside County men and a Las Vegas resident are facing a federal charge of taking part in a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries at firearms stores across Southern California, pilfering more than 300 weapons, prosecutors said today. Lake Elsinore residents Cross Arjay Goree, 18, Caine Aiden Goree, 22, Brendan Markel Hawkins, 19,
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At 1:59 P.M. today, deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a shooting in the area of Vista Del Norte and Dillon Road in Coachella. When deputies arrived to the gated community of Villas at the Vineyards, they were able to locate evidence that a shooting had taken place, however, no
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Investigators from the Gangs/Narcotics Division of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, along with deputies from patrol stations, served 18 search warrants between June 29 and July 12 as part of Operation Consequences. Over the two-week period, investigators contacted gang members and persons prohibited from possessing firearms at various locations in Ontario, Redlands, San Bernardino,
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Deputies were dispatched to the area of Washington St. and Avenue 47 just before 10 P.M. tonight regarding an assault with a deadly weapon. According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, deputies located multiple people involved in a physical altercation upon arrival. It was reported to officers that one of the people involved was armed with
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A 35-year-old man accused of killing a man and burning his body inside a vehicle in Thermal in July 2020 must stand trial for murder and other charges, a judge ruled today. Ruben Corria Esquivel Jr. of Coachella was held to answer for one felony count each of murder, arson on a property, having a
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Update 7/12/24 Investigators confirmed the suspect in Thursday’s bank robbery is believed to be the same as the one at the U.S. Bank in Palm Desert on June 26. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office shared a photo of the robbery at Mechanics Bank. The suspect was described as a white male adult, between 50 and
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The sentencing was delayed again for a man convicted for the second time in the financially motivated killing of a Palm Springs retiree in 2008. Daniel Carlos Garcia, 41, was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday at the Larson Justice Center, but it was delayed as his new attorney requested more time to catch up
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