A probationer and his cohort accused of gunning down a 60-year-old Cabazon man must stand trial for murder and other offenses, a judge ruled today. Victor Diaz Sandoval, 52, of Cabazon, and Gilberto Garcia, 38, of Banning, allegedly killed Ruben Garcia in 2021. Following a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center, Riverside County
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An Indio man accused in connection with the armed robbery of a person who responded to an advertisement of an Xbox gaming console for sale pleaded not guilty today to felony charges. Brian Lee Craig, 19, was charged with five felonies — two counts of possession of controlled substances for sale and one each of
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A 22-year-old man accused of gunning down two people and seriously wounding a third person during an attack near Interstate 10 in Banning was charged today with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Dorian Alexander Francisco of Banning was arrested Friday following a manhunt that began two days earlier, following
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A judge today denied two motions filed by the defense, one to acquit the defendant of four murder charges and one to reconsider excluding a statement in the retrial of a Cathedral City man accused of gunning down four people in Palm Springs. Jose Vladimir Larin-Garcia, 23, is being tried on four counts of first-degree
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Charges were dismissed but quickly re-filed today against a suspected serial burglar accused of residential break-ins in two Coachella Valley cities. Teddy Kaiser Hartwell, 37, of Palm Springs, faces the same seven felony charges — six counts of burglary and one of receiving stolen property. He pleaded not guilty to all charges Tuesday afternoon
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A person was shot during a confrontation with Riverside County sheriff’s deputies Tuesday afternoon in San Jacinto. The shooting occurred sometime between 1 and 2 p.m. at a facility near the intersection of Minor and Shaver streets. San Jacinto: Deputy Involved Shooting in the area of Minor St. and Shaver St. Please avoid the area.—
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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
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Local police leaders are reacting to the death of a Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty Thursday afternoon in Jurupa Valley. “We feel devastated for them. And certainly when a colleague goes down, it affects everybody,” said Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills. Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, was shot
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A 19-year-old from Indio was behind bars today for his alleged involvement in posing as the seller of an Xbox gaming console and robbing someone at gunpoint. The teen was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of robbery, carrying a loaded firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of controlled substances with a firearm and possession
Continue Reading A 22-year-old man suspected of gunning down two people and wounding a third during an attack near Interstate 10 in Banning was at large today. Dorian Alexander Francisco of Banning allegedly shot the two men and a woman shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 3300 block of Ramsey Street, just west of Sunset Avenue
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A Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley Thursday afternoon. The deputy was rushed to Riverside Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The deputy was identified as Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32. “He was naturally drawn to law enforcement and certainly embodied our motto of ‘Service Above
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A 21-year-old reputed gang member who helped a fellow gang member elude capture after the man allegedly gunned down a Cathedral City resident in 2020 pleaded guilty today to three felony charges and two misdemeanor counts. Joel Sanchez of Cathedral City pleaded guilty to felony charges of being an accessory after the fact, carrying a
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A 28-year-old man from Hemet was behind bars today on suspicion of burglarizing $2,000 worth of products from a Desert Hot Springs cannabis dispensary. The suspect was arrested Monday morning in San Jacinto on suspicion of burglary and being a felon and gang member in possession of a firearm, according to Detective Sgt. Christopher Saucer
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As we close out 2022, we take a look back at some of the biggest crime stories over the past year in the desert. The first murder of the year in the valley happened in Palm Springs on Jan. 11 in the parking lot at Raising Cane’s. A 32-year-old man was shot and killed. Just
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The California Highway Patrol put a call out to the community for help in identifying a tractor-trailer involved in a deadly rollover crash on the I-10 near State Route 62 on Christmas night. The crash happened at around 9:45 p.m. on the eastbound side of Interstate 10, just west of State Route 62. A driver,
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The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department released body camera video of a deadly deputy-involved shooting that occurred last month in Cabazon. FULL VIDEO RELEASE (VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED) The shooting happened after a traffic stop on Carmen Avenue west of Rafael Street on Nov. 12, 2022. Authorities said the suspect, identified as Kenneth Scott Wallis, 38, of
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A police pursuit ended in a crash in Palm Desert Friday evening. The pursuit ended near the intersection of Hovley Lane and Washington Street at around 5:15 p.m. Viewers called the newsroom reporting a heavy police presence in the area. A spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dept. confirmed the pursuit started due to a
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A Cathedral City man was ordered today to stand trial for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy and showing the boy pornographic videos. David Hadley Pio, 63, was charged with four felony counts — two of committing a lewd act on a child under 14, and one each of committing three or more lewd acts on
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A Riverside County mother is demanding justice after she was attacked with her baby. The case is one of more than 1,000 countywide that have been dismissed by Riverside County Superior Court judges because there were no courtrooms available. Clarissa Guevara is caught on grainy surveillance video being attacked with her 1-year-old daughter in her
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We’ve learned that an 88-year-old man charged in a crash that killed a 9-year-old girl walking home after being dropped off by a school bus near Desert Hot Springs has posted bail and has an arraignment date set. The DA’s office had issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the driver, Robert William Hanson.
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