Kids and Crime

A former employee of the Desert Sands Unified School District was charged with sexually assaulting a child 25 years ago. Manuel Arseo Patino, 62, was arrested on Thursday on the 42500 block of Deep Canyon Road in Palm Desert. Patino was arraigned in court on Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He pled

Two young adults and three teens were arrested following a series of drive-by shootings with water gel guns in Banning, Beaumont, and Cabazon. The Banning Police Department, Beaumont Police Department, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department all recently received reports of several subjects shooting from a vehicle. Several victims reported being shot at with possible BB

A registered sex offender accused of fatally slashing his year-old daughter before throwing her off a cliff in the mountains south of the Coachella Valley, and also attacking the child’s mother and a good Samaritan, pleaded not guilty today to murder and other charges.    Adam Slater, 50, is charged with felony counts of murder,

A man and woman were sentenced to lengthy prison terms today for molesting an 18-month-old boy in Desert Hot Springs and filming their actions. Michael James Flaherty, 36, and Cynthia Fuentes, 26, were convicted in December 2021 of three counts of committing lewd acts on a child under 14 years old using force, two counts

“An act of violence on one of us is an act of violence on all of us.”  That’s what Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez wrote to his Facebook followers on Wednesday. The post was in response to our report on the murder of Brandon Anguiano, 16, and Jestine Carrillo, 17. The teen couple was gunned down

A mother accused of driving drunk with three children in her vehicle, leading to a Temecula crash that killed her 8-year-old daughter, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and other counts, California Highway Patrol officials said today. The collision happened at 6:20 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of state Route 79 and Anza Road,

Two teens were behind bars today for allegedly trying to rob a cannabis delivery driver at gunpoint in Desert Hot Springs. The suspects, aged 15 and 16, were arrested Tuesday and booked into Riverside County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. One of them was also booked on suspicion of

Three teenagers are suspected of a string of Desert Hot Springs carjackings and armed robberies that led to gunfire in at least one holdup, authorities said Wednesday. The suspects, identified only as teenagers between 15 and 17 years old, were arrested and booked into Riverside Juvenile Hall Tuesday on suspicion of carjacking, robbery, firearm assault,

The mental competency trial for a man accused of severely injuring a 7-year-old Desert Hot Springs boy in a random attack has been delayed. The trial is now scheduled to be held on August 31. Daniel Birch Poulsen, 34, was arrested in July 2020 after allegedly attacking Gavin Ludwick in the middle of the street in the

A man accused of possessing and disseminating child pornography and other sexual abuse material was arrested Monday morning in Desert Hot Springs. The Desert Hot Springs Police Department’s Detective Bureau and the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team served a search warrant at a home in the city. There was little information available at the time

A 15-year-old boy is behind bars after authorities found multiple handguns during a search warrant in Indio. The weapons-related search warrant took place Tuesday evening on Beverly Court in Indio. It was led by the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force with assistance from the Palm Desert Special Enforcement Team, the Palm Desert Business

Deputies arrested a 16-year-old and two men wanted in connection with a shooting last month in Coachella. The shooting happened just before 7 p.m. on May 31 in the 52700 block of Genoa Drive, in the city of Coachella. Deputies responded to a call of a shooting between three subjects. No injuries were reported by

Two 15-year-old boys were arrested today on suspicion of possessing guns and stolen property from an armed robbery incident a week prior. The names of the juveniles were withheld due to their age. They were both documented criminal street gang members, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities searched a residence in the 53-500

A 44-year-old Twentynine Palms woman was arrested on accusations of torturing and abusing a three-year-old boy. The investigation began on Saturday, when investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department-Crimes Against Children (CAC) Detail, Morongo Sheriff’s Station, and Children Family Services conducted an investigation regarding a three-year-old boy. Authorities said the boy was airlifted from

A 7-year-old girl swimming in the Colorado River was struck and killed by a boat driven by an Indio man suspected of being under the influence. The crash happened Sunday afternoon near Buckskin State Park. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the 7-year-old was swimming in the water near the shoreline when a