RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – Police warn residents to stay vigilant if falling victim in extortion scams. Two women accused of targeting a Rancho Mirage man this week for extorting him of over $100,000 both pleaded not guilty yesterday to felony charges. Bertha Verduzco Gasso, 67, and Ilvia Yvette Lopez, 43, both of Hemet, were arrested
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Update – 3/28/25 McKernan’s case has been moved to the Banning Justice Center. The case is set to continue on Tuesday. Original Report – 3/27/25 RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Trial proceedings were suspended on Thursday for an 82-year-old man accused of fatally bludgeoning a senior who had invited him to stay at her and her
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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – Two women accused of targeting a Ranch Mirage man in a six-figure immigration-driven extortion scam both pleaded not guilty today to felony charges. Bertha Verduzco Gasso, 67, and Ilvia Yvette Lopez, 43, both of Hemet, were arrested Tuesday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation that began earlier this month.
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – An ex-con suspected of fatally stabbing her wife, a veteran Riverside County Fire Department captain, at their home and then fleeing to Mexico — where she was apprehended over the weekend — pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on Wednesday. Yolanda Marodi, 53, is accused of killing her spouse of
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man charged with the murder of his parents in Indio was arraigned in court on Wednesday. Kevin James Reddy, 51, pleaded not guilty to charges, which include two counts of murder with a special circumstance. He will return to court on April 7 for a felony settlement conference. He is
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 54-year-old man who drove drunk and caused a multi-vehicle crash that killed three people in Palm Springs is slated to be sentenced to state prison next month. Shawn Michael Kirkpatrick on Tuesday admitted three counts of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter, as well as DUI resulting in great bodily injury and
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INDIO Calif. (KESQ) – With Coachella just weeks away, scammers are targeting festivalgoers looking for short term rentals (STR). Fake listings are popping up on Craigslist, complete with stolen property photos and fake rental contracts – all designed to trick attendees into handing over money and leaving them stranded when they arrive. In a statement
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MECCA, Calif. (KESQ) – A 17-year-old girl was pronounced dead after a shooting early Wednesday morning in Mecca. The shooting was first reported at around 1:00 a.m. at the Mecca II Apartments on the 91800 block of 66th Avenue. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a report of an assault with
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LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – A 44-year-old vehicle theft suspect arrested in Indio remained in custody today. Deputies were notified of an allegedly stolen vehicle at 7:35 a.m. Tuesday in the 81500 block of Rancho Santana Drive in La Quinta, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department statement. Officials were led to believe that a
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DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Two people are in the hospital after being shot in Desert Hot Springs early Tuesday morning. The shooting was first reported at around 2:15 a.m. in the 12700 block of Avenida Alta Loma. Officers found a victim at the house. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition,
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – On Tuesday, March 25, a jury recommended the death penalty for Adam Slater, a Palm Desert man convicted of killing his one-year-old daughter and stabbing his pregnant wife during a child custody exchange in Indian Wells. Slater is due back in court on May 30 for sentencing. Celeste Fiehler, a family
Continue Reading INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — We’re learning new details about a man accused of killing his elderly parents in Indio. Kevin James Reddy, 51 is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, according to jail records. Reddy faces two counts of second-degree murder in
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A 17-year-old was arrested in connection with a stabbing in an incident that left two teens hospitalized last week in downtown Palm Springs. The stabbing happened on Thursday on the 100 block of W. Tahquitz Canyon Drive near the Kimpton Rowan Hotel. At the time police had confirmed that one
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DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Authorities arrested three people on suspicion of driving under the influence at a DUI checkpoint, the Desert Hot Springs Police Department announced today. The checkpoint was held from 6 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday at a location with notable data patterns of impaired driving-related crashes in the city,
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — A murder suspect was in custody Friday night after Indio Police say he killed his parents. Officers said on Friday, they conducted a welfare check for the elderly couple, both aged 84, in Indio at the 45000 block of Green Hills Court. They said no one was contacted at that residence,
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 25-year-old woman who lured a man to a Cathedral City Park, where he was fatally assaulted over her bogus accusations that he’d raped her, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Rena Lizette Alaniz of Thousand Palms was convicted in December of first-degree murder
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CALEXICO, Calif. (KESQ) – Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the Calexico Cargo Facility discovered more than 1,300 pounds of methamphetamine combined after two separate seizures last week. The first discovery was made on the morning of March 12. Officials said CBP officers encountered a 36-year-old man driving a red tractor-trailer seeking entry
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Multiple people were arrested today after being named in a federal indictment alleging conspiracy in a ring that involved smuggling controlled substances, including fentanyl, into the Riverside County correctional system. A total of 10 individuals were named in the indictment, which alleged the defendants engaged in smuggling substances into the correctional
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 34-year-old convicted felon accused of killing a holocaust survivor and a woman in separate burglaries must stand trial on two counts of first-degree murder and other charges, a judge ruled today. Luis Flores Cantor of Palm Springs allegedly took the lives of 80-year-old Joseph Rajczi and 59-year-old Jennifer Dillon
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Coachella Valley Unified School District teacher accused of inappropriately touching a student pleaded not guilty today to lewd acts on a minor and other offenses. Mario Manuel Valenzuela, 42, of Coachella was arrested last month following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Along with the lewd acts count, Valenzuela
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