Crime

A 42-year-old man accused of holding up banks in Banning bank and Hemet by pretending to have a gun concealed in his shirt will stand trial on a pair of robbery counts, a judge ruled today. Aaron Sterling Gefrerer of Cathedral City was arrested last month after a Banning Police Department investigation, with assistance from

A third man accused of holding a man against his will and beating him with a wooden paddle over several days in Cathedral City was arrested today, police said. The man, identified as a 30-year-old from Indio, was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of kidnapping, torture, false imprisonment and

An ex-con who shot a man in the head over a missing cellphone in Indio was sentenced today to 39 years to life in state prison. Jurors deliberated one day in March before finding John Kevin Medina, 40, of Indio guilty of attempted murder, and finding true several gun and bodily injury sentence-enhancing allegations. Medina,

Two brothers accused of holding a 36-year-old man against his will and beating him with a wooden paddle over several days in Cathedral City pleaded not guilty to felony charges. The judge also increased bail from $135,000 to $1 million for both defendants, who remain in custody Carlos Jose Espinoza, 30, and Eduardo Luis Espinoza,

A 45-year-old man accused of gunning down a motel guest during an altercation in Riverside pleaded not guilty today to a murder charge. Robert Donald Intong of Desert Hot Springs was arrested last month following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the May 17 slaying of 31-year-old Cole William Birchard. He was arraigned on the

Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a wanted suspect following an hours-long search within a mobile home park in Thousand Palms Thursday evening. The search started at around 7:30 p.m. at Pacheta Square inside the Tri Palm Estates. Sgt. Lionel Murphy of the Sheriff’s Department said the suspect was wanted for a previous assault with a

The Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force found red tail hawks, guns, and multiple vehicles stolen from a local Home Depot during a search of a residence and ranch in Coachella. The discovery was made Wednesday at Noon when task force officers, with assistance from the Riverside Auto Theft Interdiction Detail and California Department

Felony charges were filed today against two brothers accused of holding a man against his will and beating him with a wooden paddle over several days in Cathedral City. Carlos Jose Espinoza, 30, and Eduardo Luis Espinoza, 32, both of Cathedral City, were arrested Tuesday. They remain behind bars awaiting their initial court appearances, scheduled