A formerly convicted felon who stole ex-Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes’ patrol vehicle from a body shop, subsequently posed as an officer and stood trial on weapons charges pleaded guilty today and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison. William Leon Menser, 31, of Indio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2018, one
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Desert Hot Springs Police were investigating a deadly hit-and-run collision that left a man dead Wednesday evening. The Riverside County Coroner’s Office identified the man killed as Paul Nava, 58, of Desert Hot Springs. KESQ News Channel 3 viewers called in details of the incident in front of King’s liquor store. Police confirmed the collision
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A death investigation was underway in Coachella Thursday morning after a man was found with an apparent gunshot wound. Investigators cordoned off the street at Vista del Norte just south of Tyler Street. Deputies said they were notified of the incident just after 2:00 a.m.m when a driver passed by the location and saw a person down in the street.
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A 49-year-old man accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of designer sunglasses from a Cabazon mall was charged today with grand theft. Demon Wannee Dennis of Hemet was arrested Friday after the alleged theft at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets on Seminole Drive, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Dennis, who is being
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Authorities today identified a 42-year-old man whose body was found in Indio. Officers responded to an area near Date Avenue and Denslow Street at around 4 a.m. Tuesday to a report of an unresponsive individual on the ground, according to the Indio Police Department. https://youtu.be/I7Ku97wtb7E Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene,
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The Palm Springs Police Department continues to conduct its “Operation Clean Streets” in the downtown area. On Tuesday, PSPD, along with state parole and Riverside County probation, were in the downtown Palm Springs area. 11 arrests were made for a variety of violations. Officers were also out making contact with downtown businesses. Just last week,
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Editor’s Note: The Riverside County District Attorney’s office confirmed that charges were dropped in September 2022 “in the interest of justice.” The article has been updated with the correct information. A 41-year-old man charged with illegally possessing multiple firearms and narcotics failed to appear in court today and had a warrant issued for his arrest.
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A woman whose remains were found 31 years ago in Thermal has been identified thanks to the use of forensic genealogy, the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team announced on Monday. On Tuesday, the Cold Case Homicide Team announced the remains were those of Kathryn Coffey of Baldwin Park. Coffey’s remains were found in
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A convicted sex offender accused of illegally entering a Riverside elementary school campus and sexually assaulting a girl in a restroom was charged today with forcible lewd acts on a child and other offenses.  Logan Allen Nighswonger, 32, of Riverside, was arrested Friday within a few hours of the alleged assault at McAuliffe Elementary School
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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
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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
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An Indio man who gunned down his cousin in an ambush outside an apartment complex because he felt that the victim had publicly denigrated him was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Â Â A Riverside jury in April convicted 26-year-old Raymond Hernandez of the 2014 fatal attack on 36-year-old Manuel
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A man and woman have been arrested for allegedly stealing mail from mailboxes in Rancho Mirage, over an almost five-month period. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department a 38 year-old man and 32 year-old woman both from Rancho Mirage were arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of stealing checks and identity theft related items. The
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A Los Angeles man suspected of stealing $45,000 worth of jewelry from a store in Palm Desert was arrested on Wednesday. The incident started at around 12:30 p.m. at a jewelry store on the 72000 block of Highway 111. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, deputies learned that the suspect entered the store acting
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A 21-year-old Desert Hot Springs man was arrested today on suspicion of possessing child pornography. Detectives with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, with the assistance of the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team, searched a residence in the 66200 block of Flora Avenue on Tuesday as part of an investigation into possession and dissemination of
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A residential burglary led to a standoff at a neighborhood in Palm Desert Tuesday morning. The incident also caused a brief lockdown at two nearby schools as a precautionary measure. The incident began shortly before 5:30 a.m. when deputies responded to reports of a burglary in the 74-400 block of Santolina Drive. Deputies arrived at
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Two men were behind bars Tuesday accused of stealing diesel fuel from the Mecca Travel Center. The suspects, a 25-year-old from Los Angeles, and a 20-year-old from Huntington Park were arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of grand theft and conspiracy, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.  Deputies responded to a report of diesel
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A Riverside man who supplied a lethal dose of fentanyl to a young Temecula woman home from college pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, prompting a judge to remand the defendant into custody and schedule a sentencing hearing. Brandon Michael McDowell, 23, admitted the federal charge under a plea agreement with the
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Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies were searching for an overnight shooting suspect early Monday morning in Coachella. Deputies were called to a neighborhood on Julia Drive between Frederick Street and Cesar Chavez Street at approximately 12:30 a.m. That’s where they said an injured man was found who’d been shot. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment. Deputies spoke with neighbors trying to
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A 30-year-old man pleaded not guilty today to four felony counts of burglary, which authorities allege he has confessed to committing. In addition to the four counts, Juan Daniel Rodriguez also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation for previously serving jail time, according to court records. He was being held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center
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