Crime

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – Two assault suspects are in custody after an investigation of an assault with a firearm, throwing rocks, and damaging property. Deputies from the San Bernardino Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station were called out to Monte Vista Street in Twentynine Palms on June 25 to investigate an assault with a firearm. Investigators

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A suspect in the shooting death of a 66-year-old man at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Elijah Ray Burt, 22, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5. Burt was arrested along with his twin brother, Emanuel Rick Burt, and a third suspect,

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – Tim Leiweke has stepped down as the CEO of the Oak View Group after being criminally indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena in Texas, the Department of Justice announced. OVG said Leiweke, 68, will remain a shareholder

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A 49-year-old man pleaded guilty to murder for a high-speed DUI pursuit crash that killed a newlywed woman in Cabazon last year. Jason Ray McQueary of Hemet pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. 

Update 7/14/25 The man injured in the shooting has died from his injuries, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced. He was identified as Gustavo Melendrez-Hernandez, 29, of Coachella. Authorities said the suspect in this shooting, Cecilio Nando-Gonzalez, 28, of Coachella, will face murder charges. Original Report 7/9/25 INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man has been

Update 7/14/25 The man injured in the shooting has died from his injuries, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced. He was identified as Gustavo Melendrez-Hernandez, 29, of Coachella. Authorities said the suspect in this shooting, Cecilio Nando-Gonzalez, 28, of Coachella, will face murder charges. Original Report 7/7/25 COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – One person has been

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – Three men were arrested after Indio police officers seized illegal fireworks and firearms in the Coachella Valley, police said today. A search warrant was served around 6 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of Second Street, in Coachella, regarding a market allegedly selling illegal fireworks to minors. Authorities recovered “a substantial

Update 07/02/25 6:00 a.m. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies confirmed they were dispatched just before 10 p.m. Monday to Douma Avenue and Avenue 52 after a driver reported their vehicle was hit by gunfire. The driver was not injured. Deputies found evidence of a shooting, but no suspects have been identified. The area has since been

BANNING, Calif. (CNS) – A felon accused of gunning down a 50-year-old man in a drive-by attack on the edge of the Morongo Indian Reservation northeast of Banning was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder and other offenses. Robert Eugene Leonard, 43, of Beaumont, was arrested over the weekend following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A Yucca Valley High School teacher was arrested Wednesday morning for embezzlement from the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.  The Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Department reports that on June 18, a member of the Parent Teacher Organization called law enforcement to report the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from the PTO account.  The

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A mother and her son were charged in connection with the death of a 24-year-old Indio woman who was found last week near the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission campus. Mario Morales Jr., 25, of Coachella, faces multiple charges, including murder, for the death of his girlfriend, Alexis Cano. He pleaded not

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ)- A Desert Hot Springs man was arrested in connection to the hit and run crash resulting in injuries of a bicyclist Sunday.  At approximately 2:45 p.m., Cathedral City Police Dispatch received multiple emergency calls reporting a vehicle hitting a bicyclist along Date Palm and Perez Road. Police said the 30-year-old victim

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — A 24-year-old woman was found dead in her Indio-area home early Thursday, and authorities say a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department responded to a possible homicide around 7:02 a.m. in the 84000 block of Manila Avenue, in an unincorporated area near Indio.