Crime

A Palm Desert High School teacher and football coach suspected of striking and killing a pedestrian while intoxicated must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled today. Cameron Francis Curtis, 31, of Palm Desert, is suspected of fatally striking 64-year-old Nancy Valdes of Palm Desert while driving under the influence on March 4. During a

A 28-year-old man suspected in a fatal hit-and-run collision last year in Palm Springs pleaded not guilty today to one felony count of hit-and-run resulting in death. Cody Jay Hamilton was charged with the felony count on July 25 and pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to court

A former Cathedral City policeman accused of swiping fentanyl and ingesting it following a drug raid, then later assaulting and harassing a former girlfriend, is slated to ask a judge tomorrow to reduce his bail. Claudiu Murzea, 46, of Rancho Cucamonga is charged with making criminal threats, battery on a domestic partner, violating a protective

A former Cathedral City police officer already facing drug charges and suspected of violating terms of a protective order and attacking a woman was charged today with a felony count of making criminal threats.    Claudiu Murzea, 46, was also charged with one misdemeanor count each of battery on a spouse and violating a court

A Riverside County sheriff’s correctional deputy accused of engaging in sex acts with female inmates on home detention as part of an extortion scheme must stand trial on nearly a dozen felony counts, a judge ruled today.   Christian Phillip Heidecker, 32, of Menifee was arrested last month following an investigation by the sheriff’s department.   

Police are looking for suspects after a smash-and-grab robbery at a jewelry store on El Paseo in Palm Desert. The robbery was reported at approximately 4:26 p.m. on the 73000 block of El Paseo. The reporting party told investigators that multiple subjects entered the business with hooded sweatshirts, masks, and carrying hammers. The suspects smashed

A 48-year-old man was arrested for allegedly burglarizing a Rancho Mirage residence earlier this week, authorities said today. The suspect, a Cathedral City resident, was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of burglary and vehicle theft, according to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Rovann Clevelend. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, members of the Palm Desert station’s Burglary

A jury today found a Palm Desert woman who attempted to kill her sister and almost ran over her mother mentally competent to stand for a sanity retrial on two felony counts from when she attacked a third woman and committed arson. Jurors returned a verdict Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio finding

A 35-year-old man suspected of multiple burglaries in Palm Desert was charged today with one felony count of burglary.    In addition to burglary, Bermuda Dunes transient Zachary Taylor Bulva was charged with one misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia, according to court records. He was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Tuesday afternoon