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 man was arrested for driving under the influence after police said he crashed into another car Saturday night in Cathedral City. The two-vehicle crash was reported at around 10:40 p.m. at the intersection of Date Palm Drive & Buddy Rogers Avenue. Police said officers arrived on scene and found two vehicles with major damage.
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An attempted murder charge was downgraded to a felony count of assault with a gun for a 21-year-old suspect previously accused of shooting at two Coachella teenagers, authorities said today. Salomon “Bookie” Cruz-Rodriguez Jr. had been accused of attempted murder in connection with a parking lot shooting on Feb. 17, 2023, according to a declaration
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Closing statements are scheduled Monday 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 stabbed 30 times because the woman falsely claimed he had raped her.  Rena Lizette Alaniz, 24, of Thousand Palms, Carlos Antonio
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A 23-year-old man suspected in a fatal shooting outside an Indio residence pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge today, while a murder charge remains active. Ramon Manuel Romo-Tirado of Indio entered the guilty plea on Friday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to case records. Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District
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A pair of suspects arrested following a burglary investigation in Desert Center were serving a probationary sentence today following guilty pleas. Desert Center resident John Bell, 56, and Andrew Grana, 49, of the San Bernardino County community of Earp, each pleaded guilty to a felony count of burglary Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in
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Desert Hot Springs City Councilmember and recent mayoral candidate Russell Betts entered not guilty pleas to a pair of charges today following an alleged road rage incident. Betts pleaded not guilty to a felony count of vandalism and a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Thursday, according to case
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Deputies discovered $100 million worth of illegal marijuana at a stash house in San Bernardino County. The discovery was made when authorities served a search warrant Marijuana Stash House was located at 5000 Block of Honeyhill Road in Oak Hills. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, deputies seized 51 truckloads of 90,000 pounds
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A 26-year-old Indio man was killed in an officer-involved shooting at a Las Vegas casino over the weekend, authorities confirmed. Cesar Reyes II was identified by the Clark County Coroner’s Office on Monday, according to KSNV. The shooting happened Sunday at around 5:05 p.m. at the South Point Hotel and Casino. Police said the incident began
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A judge ordered the assets of Jacob Rostovsky, the CEO of the local non-profit Queer Works, to be frozen as his fraud case continues to move ahead. Rostovsky, 33, was indicted in October on 53 felony counts in a fraud scheme surrounding a universal basic income pilot program in Palm Springs. Charges including fraudulent claims, grand
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A 42-year-old Palm Springs resident accused of stabbing a man and threatening to stab an am/pm convenience store clerk was awaiting sentencing today after pleading guilty to attempted murder and other charges. Christopher William Freitas also entered guilty pleas Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to two felony counts of criminal threats and
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A man was recovering at Eisenhower Health as police searched for a suspect who stabbed him at Miles Avenue Park in Indio Monday. Police say the female suspect, in her 30s, was known by them, and she posed no danger to the public. The 64-year-old victim was stabbed with a knife during a disturbance between
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It’s the holiday season and local officials say this is when burglaries tend to increase. About 1 million burglaries happen in the United States annually, with around 83,000 of them happening in December, according to a 2022 survey from Porch. Indio police are investigating a break-in at Johnson Photos on the 82000 block of Miles Avenue, where suspects
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A Cathedral City man was arrested after being accused of threatening firefighters with a knife after he started several fires in Morongo Valley over the weekend. The incident happened Saturday at around 3:45 p.m. on the 10200 block of Hawk Valley Road, near Cedar Drive. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, fire personnel
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Desert Hot Springs Police were investigating a Saturday traffic collision that sent two people to the hospital and officers searching for the driver of an off-road utility vehicle who reportedly left the scene. The crash happened just before 2:30 pm in the area of Palm Drive and 20th Avenue. Police say the driver of a
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A CHP Officer is recovering tonight after being assaulted by the driver of a disabled car on Interstate 8 just west of Imperial Highway in Imperial County on Thursday. CHP reports that the Officer stopped to help the suspect, a 43-year-old male from Phoenix, Arizona. The suspect “displayed altering mood swings” and attacked the Officer
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Palm Springs police K9 Axel helped officers locate a loaded firearm during an investigation early Friday morning. The incident started at around 1:15 a.m. on the 2800 block of Avery Drive. Police were called out to the area following a report of a potential disturbance involving a known gang member who was possibly armed, the
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A 53-year-old man suspected of driving under the influence in a three-vehicle collision that killed three Escondido residents last year in Palm Springs was held to answer today. Shawn Michael Kirkpatrick will stand trial for three felony counts of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and a felony count each of DUI alcohol causing great bodily injury,
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An Indio man suspected in an October shooting that left one person injured in downtown Palm Springs has been arrested, police announced Thursday. The 23-year-old suspect was arrested Wednesday morning after Desert Regional SWAT team members, which includes officers from Palm Springs PD, Indio PD, and Cathedral City PD, served a warrant at the 48000
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Riverside County Sheriff’s homicide investigators arrested two suspects in the shooting death of a 44-year-old man last month in Coachella. Gael Silva, 18, and a 17-year-old teen boy were arrested Tuesday in Coachella. Silva was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder, while the 17-year-old was booked into juvenile hall. Silva
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