MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Prosecution testimony got underway today in the trial of a 21-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting and trying to kidnap a Thermal girl as she walked home from school. Christian Daniel Arreola of Coachella was arrested in 2022 following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the alleged attack on the
Continue Reading MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – A jury was seated Thursday for the trial of a 21-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting and trying to kidnap a Thermal girl as she walked through a field on her way home from school. Christian Daniel Arreola of Coachella was arrested in 2022 following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Office investigation
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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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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
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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
Continue Reading INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Jury deliberations got underway today in the penalty phase of trial for a convicted felon who killed his year-old daughter and stabbed his pregnant wife during a child custody exchange in Indian Wells. Adam Slater, 53, of Palm Desert killed baby Madalyn in 2020 during an act of rage that
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A 15-year-old boy remained in custody today after allegedly running multiple red lights on a mini motorcycle and being found with an illegally possessed firearm in Palm Springs. A member of the Palm Springs Police Department observed the teenager on the motorcycle at approximately 8 p.m. Friday, according to
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Authorities are searching for a man who attacked a 14-year-old boy who was walking home from school Thursday afternoon in Twentynine Palms. The attack was reported at around 2:20 p.m. near Sunnyslope Drive and La Buena Tierra Avenue. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the teen was walking when he was approached by
Continue Reading INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A felon who killed his year-old daughter and stabbed his pregnant wife after turning irate during a child custody exchange in Indian Wells was found guilty of murder and other charges today. Adam Slater, 53, of Palm Desert, killed baby Madalyn in 2020 during an act of rage that included a
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COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – A 42-year-old teacher with the Coachella Valley Unified School District was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a student. Mario Manuel Valenzuela of Coachella was arrested on Friday on charges of lewd acts on a child. The investigation into Valenzuela’s arrest started in December when the student told school administrators that
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BEAUMONT, Calif. (KESQ) – Costa Mesa police reached out to the public today to identify possible additional victims of a man arrested in Beaumont who is suspected of committing lewd acts with a pair of teenage girls. Peter Michael Mejia, 27, of Redlands, was arrested Monday, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department. He has
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A minor was hospitalized after being stabbed with a screwdriver in Mecca Wednesday afternoon. The stabbing was first reported at around 1:30 p.m. in the area of 2nd Street and Date Street. “When deputies arrived, they learned a juvenile was assaulted by two other juveniles with a screwdriver,” writes Sergeant Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez, public information officer
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A young woman accused of stabbing a boy during a domestic confrontation in Banning, inflicting life-threatening wounds, was charged today with attempted murder and other offenses. Eirianna Mariah Zaragoza, 18, of Banning, was arrested Sunday following a Banning Police Department investigation. Along with attempted murder, Zaragoza is charged with domestic violence and assault with a
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BANNING, Calif (KESQ) – A minor is recovering after being stabbed multiple times in what police called a “home-invasion style attack” Sunday morning in Banning. The attack was reported just before 5:30 a.m. Banning police said detecives determined that the person who originally called the police had been in a domestic dispute with minor and
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A 51-year-old felon who preyed on two Moreno Valley schoolgirls and tried to abduct one of them pleaded guilty today to attempted kidnapping and was immediately sentenced to 18 months in state prison. Rene Rodriguez Ramirez of Indio admitted the felony count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange
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Jury selection is expected to wrap up next week for the trial of a gang member accused of joining a teenage cohort in attempting to gun down a rival in a Cathedral City park — but wounding a young mother and a boy playing soccer instead. Ivan Raya Reynoso, 22, of Cathedral City is charged
Continue Reading A 31-year-old Desert Hot Springs man was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a minor in the High Desert, investigators announced on Thursday. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, on October 20, deputies began their investigation into unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor that occurred in Yucca Valley. Through the investigation, deputies determined
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A 36-year-old Thermal man who repeatedly sexually molested a young girl over a period of years was convicted today of nearly a dozen felony charges. A Riverside jury deliberated just over a day before finding Alfonso Gonzalez Meraz guilty of four counts each of forcible lewd acts on a child and sexual assault of
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A Thermal man convicted of multiple charges after molesting a young girl several times and then trying to intimidate her and her mother into changing their stories to spare him from prosecution was sentenced to 10 years in prison today. Elit Barroso Miranda, 41, was previously found guilty of two counts of lewd acts on
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A trial date was set today for a Coachella man accused of trying to kidnap a then-15-year-old girl in Thermal more than two years ago. Christian Daniel Arreola, 21, was charged with three felony counts — one each of assault with intent to commit mayhem, sexual battery, and attempted kidnapping, robbery and/or rape, according to
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