Crime

A 26-year-old San Jacinto man who supplied a fatal dose of fentanyl to an acquaintance was sentenced today to 12 years in state prison. Samuel Leo Mussaw last month admitted charges of voluntary manslaughter and possession of controlled substances for sale under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for

A Mexican citizen was arrested Monday morning after Border Patrol agents reported finding 154 pounds of meth in a vehicle during a traffic stop in the Coachella Valley. The incident happened at around 5:00 a.m. on Interstate 10 near Dillon Road. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, Border Patrol agents were observing

A 38-year-old convicted felon who fatally shot his helper at an illegal marijuana grow in Anza after the man accidentally caused a vehicle to roll over and kill a puppy was found guilty today of murder. After two days of deliberations, a Murrieta jury convicted Benjamin Franklin Winkle of killing 37-year-old Michael M. Mendoza in

The Palm Springs Police Department’s IMPACT unit, aimed at community-oriented policing and problem-solving, has been working tirelessly to spread a clear message that retail theft WILL NOT be tolerated in this community!  Over the past two weeks, the PSPD’s IMPACT team has conducted three retail theft operations at large corporations such as Walmart, Home Depot,

Border Patrol agents arrested two people in two separate events over the weekend on Interstate 10. The first incident happened on Friday when agents stopped a white sedan traveling east on Interstate 10. The driver pulled over on the side of the road, the driver was questioned and admitted to being in the country illegally,

A woman and her boyfriend accused in the 2012 death of her 22-year-old developmentally disabled twin brother re-entered not guilty pleas today to murder. Ines Patrisia Mendez, 33, and her boyfriend, Shanen Ryan Riley, 34, also re-entered not guilty pleas to one felony count of cruelty to an adult Tuesday morning at the Larson Justice

A 56-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting a man he met through an online dating app must stand trial on additional felony charges, a judge ruled today. Hakan Isik of Desert Hot Springs was charged last year with two felony counts of sodomy with victim intoxication/under anesthesia, and one felony count each of sexual penetration

Felony charges were filed today against a 26-year-old man suspected of burglarizing a residence and leaving the scene, prompting a search from sheriff’s deputies near an elementary school. Mizahel Morales of Palm Desert was charged with one felony count each of burglary, assault with a gun, prevent/dissuade a witness/victim and vandalism, according to court records.

Two young Las Vegas men suspected in a murder near Mission Springs Park in Desert Hot Springs in December have pleaded not guilty to felony charges and are set to make their next court appearance next week. Emanuel Castaneda, 18, and Carlos Hernandez, 19, were arrested in Las Vegas Jan. 16, when they were initially

A suspect in custody after a burglary call turned into a standoff that led to a brief lockout in Palm Desert Wednesday afternoon. The incident started at around 1:41 p.m. when deputies were dispatched to the 43000 of Elkhorn Trail regarding a burglary in progress investigation. The suspect ended up barricaded inside a home in