Crime

Attempted murder and gang-related charges were filed today against an 18-year-old man accused in a shooting that injured a woman and a juvenile at a Cathedral City park. Ivan Raya-Reynoso of Cathedral City and an underage suspect are accused in the shooting that was reported at 6:50 p.m. last Friday at Ocotillo Park, 33300 Moreno

Andres Martinez Pita Jr. got the call overnight Monday that his dad, Andres Martinez, had been shot and killed at Desert Hot Springs Mobile Home Park. “It’s crazy; I’m still in disbelief,” Martinez said. “My dad was a very good guy. He was always looking out for people, and to me it was random.” A GoFundMe

A Mexicali man was charged in federal court with organizing the smuggling event that led to a crash between an SUV and a semi-truck that killed 13 people near Holtville, California on March 2, 2021. The SUV was carrying 25 people at the time of the crash. Some, including the driver of the semi-truck, were

A Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy has been taken to the hospital after being stabbed in the leg with a knife in Palm Desert Tuesday afternoon. The stabbing happened near the area of Lupine Lane and El Paseo in Palm Desert at around 1:15 p.m. Deputies were in the area searching for a suspect who was

A Desert Hot Springs couple accused of illegally manufacturing weapons and explosives pleaded guilty to some — but not all — of the charges against them today and were immediately sentenced to probation. Kevin Boykin, 21, and Naomi Medina, 22, were arrested in June 2019 following a Desert Hot Springs Police Department investigation that stemmed

A convicted felon suspected of leading deputies on a pursuit that began and ended on the Morongo Indian Reservation where he shot at them and ultimately barricaded himself in a home for hours until giving up, was being held without bail today. The man, a 52-year-old from Banning was arrested and booked into the Smith

The brother of a Palm Springs woman police said was killed in her home is offering a cash reward, trying to keep the investigation alive. Tom Dillon is now offering $25,000 in exchange for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the unexplained killing of his older sister, Jenny Dillon. “Someone out there

An ex-con was convicted today of attempted murder for shooting a man in the head over a missing cellphone in Indio last March. An Indio jury deliberated one day before finding John Kevin Medina, 40, of Indio guilty of the felony count, and finding true several gun and bodily injury sentence-enhancing allegations. Riverside County Superior

A probationer who embezzled more than $400,000 while employed at an addiction treatment center in Rancho Mirage pleaded guilty today to several felony charges and was immediately sentenced to more than six years in state prison. Kelly Michelle Barnes, 42, entered guilty pleas in four separate criminal cases at the Larson Justice Center in Indio

A judge confirmed today that prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against an Indio man accused in the beating and shaking death of his 3-month-old son. Leonardo Daniel Alvarado Fernandez, 34, and Zue Urias, 27, were arrested 14 months ago, after police responded to a report that they had brought their dead infant, Marco,

The family of a pregnant 18-year-old woman who was killed in a crash in Indio earlier this month are continuing to their quest for justice. Her family was out at the site of the crash on Monroe Street Tuesday morning holding up signs calling for people to help identify the driver who fled the scene.

An Indio man was arrested today on suspicion of opening fire on a vehicle in Coachella last month. The suspect was booked at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of assault with a firearm and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Bail information was not immediately available. The Feb. 3 shooting was reported

Nearly a dozen felony charges were filed today against a felon accused of taking part in a violent armed robbery inside the gated community that houses the Arnold Palmer PGA West golf course in La Quinta. Luis Jose Leyva Jr., 32, of Desert Hot Springs was arrested last Friday on suspicion of joining three other

Police were investigating a high-speed collision that set an SUV on fire, the occupants of the vehicle fleeing the crash scene. Palm Springs Police say a motorist was driving at a high rate of speed and collided with a barricade at the north dead-end of North Sunrise Way just before midnight Thursday. Officers at the

A man convicted of raping children in multiple states could be ordered to live in Twentynine Palms, despite having no connection to the area. Last week, Orange County Superior Court tentatively ordered Lawtis Donald Rhoden, 72, to live in Twentynine Palms. Rhoden has been convicted of underage sexual assaults in Orange County, Los Angeles County,

Residents in a Coachella neighborhood remain in shock after thieves broke into a home and stole three dogs from a family. The theft happened on Monday in the area of Avenue 48 and Calhoun Street. Surveillance video from across the street shows three suspects jumping the fence into the home of Victor Higuera, the owner