Crime

A 40-year-old man who sent sexually charged messages to someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy in Palm Desert pleaded guilty today to a felony charge. Brandon Devon Bourgeois of Hemet pleaded guilty Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one felony count of contacting a minor with intent to commit a crime,

An 18-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting a 19-year-old in an apartment in Indio was charged with murder today.   Jacob Matthew Alvin Vargas of Indio was also charged with one felony count each of burglary and being a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, according to court records. He also faces

Two schools in Coachella were temporarily placed on a precautionary lockdown after a shooting nearby. The shooting happened in the area of Highway 111 and 9th Street at around 3:47 p.m. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office told News Channel 3 that the victim said a man pointed a gun at him when he was driving southbound

A 45-year-old man who fatally shot a man more than 20 years ago at an Indio intersection pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter today and was immediately sentenced to 15 years in state prison.   Enoc Calderon of La Quinta also pleaded guilty Monday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to two felony counts of

A Cathedral City man who killed another man in 2017 in Banning out of jealousy over a woman was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ronald Dean Ricks, 37, was convicted Aug. 16 of first-degree murder and jurors also found true a special-circumstance allegation of discharging a firearm from a

A 21-year-old man who broke into the Cabazon Outlets Mall, stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods with several associates, pleaded guilty today to burglary, as well as a charge in a separate case, and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison.    Reginald Bernard Mitchell admitted the burglary count, along with firearm

A man was arrested after allegedly attempting to smuggle more than $1.5 million worth of liquid methamphetamine through the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. The arrest happened last Thursday at around 9:00 p.m. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the driver, a 40-year-old from Mexico, approached the immigration checkpoint in a white commercial tractor. While

A Palm Desert High School teacher and football coach suspected of striking and killing a pedestrian while intoxicated must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled today. Cameron Francis Curtis, 31, of Palm Desert, is suspected of fatally striking 64-year-old Nancy Valdes of Palm Desert while driving under the influence on March 4. During a

A 28-year-old man suspected in a fatal hit-and-run collision last year in Palm Springs pleaded not guilty today to one felony count of hit-and-run resulting in death. Cody Jay Hamilton was charged with the felony count on July 25 and pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to court

A former Cathedral City policeman accused of swiping fentanyl and ingesting it following a drug raid, then later assaulting and harassing a former girlfriend, is slated to ask a judge tomorrow to reduce his bail. Claudiu Murzea, 46, of Rancho Cucamonga is charged with making criminal threats, battery on a domestic partner, violating a protective

A former Cathedral City police officer already facing drug charges and suspected of violating terms of a protective order and attacking a woman was charged today with a felony count of making criminal threats.    Claudiu Murzea, 46, was also charged with one misdemeanor count each of battery on a spouse and violating a court