Kids and Crime

A 43-year-old felon from Morongo Valley who had a sexual relationship with an underage girl will be sentenced next month on two felony charges. Elogio Elias Arredondo pleaded guilty at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Monday to one felony count each of committing a lewd act on a girl under the age of

A 26-year-old woman who attempted to abduct two children from an elementary school in Desert Hot Springs has been sentenced to eight years and eight months in state prison after pleading guilty to felony charges.    Yessica Chavez Mercado was charged with one felony count each of kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, along with one misdemeanor

Editor’s Note: A story that ran on the CNS wire Monday stated that Riverside County prosecutors had requested that a judge dismiss all counts against the defendant for unspecified reasons. The story stemmed from basic notations in the court minutes and emails from the D.A.’s communications director, who was going by the same minutes. The

Desert Springs Middle School was placed on a brief lock out Tuesday afternoon due to police activity nearby. Parents/guardians were notified by the Palm Springs Unified School District at around 3:40 p.m., a text to parents showed. The lock out was lifted by 3:53 p.m. School officials said there was no threat to any students

A man from Oregon was charged with arranging to meet a Banning minor after inappropriate online communication, police said. The crime was reported on Feb. 14. Police said mother of a teen girl arrived at the station to report inappropriate online communication between her minor child and a male adult, who was identified as Devon

A 21-year-old man was arrested for allegedly being in possession of 26 grams of cocaine and a Coachella teen was arrested on suspicion of being armed with a loaded ghost gun, authorities said today. During a robbery investigation Thursday, the Thermal sheriff’s station Special Investigations Unit and the Fugitives and Warrants Enforcement Team were in

A woman was arrested after authorities said she attempted to scale the fence of Oasis Elementary School in Twentynine Palms Tuesday morning. Officials with the Morongo Unified School District said the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was quickly notified and responded immediately. The school was also placed on lockdown. Deputies arrested the woman. She remains

A Palm Desert man who arranged over the internet to meet what he thought would be a 13-year-old girl for sex was sentenced to four years of state prison today. Marino Aaron Lopez, 31, faced six felony counts — two of oral copulation with a person 10 to 14 years old, and one each of

A 66-year-old man was arrested in Cathedral City on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material. The arrest happened Thursday on the 26000 block of Rio Oso Road. Viewers called the newsroom to report seeing the FBI and law enforcement at a home in the morning. A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed that agents were

A Desert Hot Springs man accused of possessing and disseminating child sex-abuse material on the internet pleaded not guilty to a felony charge. Pedro Alfredo Elizalde was charged with one felony count of possessing images depicting a minor under 12 years old in a sexual act, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to

Update 3/13/23 All charges were dropped against Ruben Rico Franco. Franco had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center on March 13. But before his case could be assigned to a courtroom, prosecutors informed Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton that they wished to drop the criminal complaint and have

Update 3/13/23 All charges were dropped against Ruben Rico Franco. Franco had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center on March 13. But before his case could be assigned to a courtroom, prosecutors informed Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton that they wished to drop the criminal complaint and have