Several days after filing murder charges against a 30-year-old man suspected of killing a Brea couple, prosecutors today released additional details, saying the victims’ bodies were both burned, along with their two Tesla cars. Â Â Huanting Gong of Glendale was charged Thursday with two counts of murder with special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and
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Residents in Desert Trace in Indio are voicing concerns about neighborhood safety after an attempted car burglary video is circulating on social media. Samer Sharqawi shared the video with News Channel 3. “I was trying to alert my neighbors. This is the time of the year they’re coming back again. I’m on high alert right
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One person was hospitalized after a shooting during a house party over the weekend in Indio. The shooting was reported on Saturday at around 10:25 p.m. during a house party on the 82200 block of Garden Street, the Indio Police Department confirmed. Police said officers arrived at the scene and found a man with a
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A 2025 trial date was set for a registered sex offender accused of fatally slashing his year-old daughter before throwing her off a cliff along Highway 74 south of Palm Desert, as well as attacking the child’s mother and a good Samaritan. Adam Slater, 53, is charged with felony counts of murder, attempted murder, assault
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A man who killed an 18-year-old woman, a witness to his attempted murder of her boyfriend, was sentenced to death today. Â Â Alexis Daniel Rosas of Indio, 29, was previously convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder, along with the two special circumstance allegations and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2019
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The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of two people suspected in the murder of a Coachella Valley couple, News Channel 3 has confirmed. Aaron Fernando Bernal, 32, was found not guilty of murder of Audrey Moran. He was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Jonathan
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A 22-year-old man who took part in the ambush slaying of a Desert Hot Springs marijuana dealer during an attempted robbery was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In addition to first-degree murder, Angel Arangure of Desert Hot Springs was also previously convicted of three counts of attempted robbery, according
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Editor’s Note: The Riverside County District Attorney’s office issued a correction on its information related to this case. Officials said the charges were dropped because the woman died as the case was ongoing. A Sky Valley woman accused in a 2013 animal hoarding case had her charges dropped following her death, officials said. Bernadette Schwenn,
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A 24-year-old man was in custody today after being sentenced to 48 months of probation and 120 days behind bars for supplying a fatal dose of fentanyl to his 17-year-old girlfriend near Desert Hot Springs. Michael Garcia entered guilty pleas on Sept. 10 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to felony counts of willful
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Updated post: Investigators announced Thursday night that an hours-long standoff had ended. They said the incident began after a suspect vehicle, which had been involved in an early-morning pursuit, was spotted off San Pascual, near Civic Center Park. A pursuit, which had been reported earlier that morning around 5:30 a.m., began when investigators said the
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Three men accused in a 2020 attack on a man in a Palm Springs mobile home park entered guilty pleas to assault charges today. Â Â Angel Valtierra, 26, Nathan Roldan Ramirez, 25, and Anthony Jose Lopez, 25, each pleaded guilty to one felony count of assault resulting in great bodily injury, according to court records.
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A 27-year-old Corona man accused of leaving La Quinta Middle School with a then-12-year-old girl he had been communicating with via social media was sentenced today after pleading guilty in September. Joshua Meza previously entered guilty pleas to six felony counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 and one felony count
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A 38-year-old man suspected of supplying a lethal dose of fentanyl to a 30-year-old man in Palm Desert must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled today. Gregory Michael Gauto of Palm Desert was held to answer to the felony charge Friday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, according to case records. Â Â The defendant
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The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced today the receipt of a nearly $1 million grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) aimed at prosecution costs in DUI cases. The $942,459 grant, which covers “a vertical prosecution team of four deputy district attorneys,” was green-lit by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on
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A man was arrested on Friday on suspicion of stealing $2,000 in US currency, electronics, and safes from multiple businesses in Rancho Mirage and Thousand Palms throughout October. The suspect, a 48-year-old from Thousand Palms, was arrested while driving a stolen vehicle in the area of Ramon Road and Thousand Palms Canyon Road in Thousand
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A 21-year-old man who entered guilty pleas after sexually assaulting a ride-hailing service driver at the conclusion of the ride while out on bail for a similar assault was sentenced to three years and six months in prison today.  Luis Enrique Lora of Desert Hot Springs pleaded guilty to three sexual battery-related felony counts and
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Border Patrol officers at the Calexico West Port of Entry seized more than 100 pounds of fentanyl pills found hidden in a vehicle. The discovery was made on Friday. According to Border Patrol, CBP officers encountered a 26-year-old man driving a red sedan seeking entry into the United States from Mexico. After initial inspection, CBP
Continue Reading In a case that began with a suspicious disappearance, closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday in the trial of two suspects accused in the 2017 killing of a Coachella Valley couple. The jury has begun deliberations on the trial against Aaron Bernal and Adilene Castaneda, who, along with Manuel Rios and Abraham Fregoso, are suspected in
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A 2025 trial date was confirmed today for a Coachella man suspected of driving under the influence and causing a crash that killed a 36-year-old woman in Palm Desert. Alberto Lopez, 27, was ordered to stand trial for a felony count of murder in August at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He initially pleaded
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A man accused of breaking into an Indio storage unit and stealing items including the ashes of the renter’s deceased son was absent from a scheduled court appearance, authorities said today. Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office told City News Service on Wednesday that Indio resident Wally Venecia failed to show up
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