Skip to Content
A felon from Desert Hot Springs accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and using her for child pornography was charged today with 30 felony counts. Cody Michael Hansen, 31, was arrested and booked into the Benoit Detention Center in Indio Thursday following an investigation by the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force. Hansen
Continue Reading
Two men and two women who assaulted a pair of hotel employees in Palm Desert pleaded guilty today to misdemeanor and felony charges and were immediately sentenced to terms of probation. Danei Deborah Davis, 28, Dalon Emil Decoud Jr., 29, Gregory Lamar Pate Jr., 29, and Diane Portillo, 31, admitted to the attack at the
Continue Reading
A Desert Hot Springs accused of human trafficking and giving fentanyl to a minor, among other crimes, was arrested and remained jailed today on $1 million bail. The man, identified as a 31-year-old, was taken into custody at about 6 p.m. Thursday in the 11700 block of Upland Way, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s
Continue Reading
A jury was seated today for the trial of a Palm Desert woman accused of hitting her sister over the head with a mallet and trying to run over her mother during an altercation at their home. Erin Leah Richey, 43, is charged with two counts each of attempted murder, assault and animal cruelty, as
Continue Reading
Over the weekend, a pick up truck and trailer were stolen from Coachella Valley High School’s Agricultural Department. The theft resulted in a damaged fence off of 55th Ave and Van Buren Street. Agricultural department head, Kevin Sleeper, shares what this weekend’s theft at CVHS means to him. “It’s hurtful. And it takes all that
Continue Reading
A 28-year-old registered sex offender was arrested following accusations that he sexually abused a minor in Twentynine Palms. Zhataviyus Lord was arrested early Tuesday morning in Twentynine Palms. According to the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station, deputies were first notified of the sexual abuse on Sunday. “Deputies learned the suspect engaged in sexual intercourse and oral
Continue Reading
A 31-year-old convicted felon acquitted of trying to kill two men at a Coachella convenience store but found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm while on bail was sentenced today, but the term of imprisonment was summarily rescinded because he had already satisfied the sentence during his time waiting in jail to be tried. Alonso
Continue Reading
Prosecution testimony is expected to conclude before the end of the week in the trial of an Indio man accused of gunning down his cousin in an ambush outside an apartment complex because he felt that the victim had been disrespectful. Raymond Hernandez, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, shooting
Continue Reading
A Perris foster care couple and their adult daughter with suspected links to some of the Turpin children pleaded not guilty to multiple abuse charges. Marcelino Camacho Olguin, 63, Rosa Armida Olguin, 58, and Lennys Giovanna Olguin, 37, were arrested and charged in November with nearly a dozen offenses, including child cruelty, false imprisonment and
Continue Reading
A 30-year-old man accused of forcing a motorist at gunpoint to lead sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase in Mecca in 2020 was ordered to stand trial today. Gutberto Antonio Rodriguez was arrested Sept. 3, 2020 in North Shore after being on the run for several weeks. Along with the kidnapping count, Rodriguez is charged
Continue Reading
A new billboard along Interstate 10 is renewing a call for tips from the public into an unsolved murder that happened in Palm Desert last year. 47-year-old Edward Snyder was shot around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 in the area of Palm Desert Country Club – at Tennessee and Oklahoma avenues. The signage is the
Continue Reading
Jury selection is now underway in the retrial of David Replogle, one of four men previously convicted for the murder of a retired Palm Springs art dealer 10 years ago. In 2012, Replogle, Kaushal Niroula, Daniel Garcia, and Miguel Bustamante were each sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Clifford Lambert, 74. Clifford Lambert
Continue Reading
A nurse who killed a 20-year-old skateboarder in a hit-and-run while she was driving drunk in Banning pleaded guilty today to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and was immediately sentenced to 15 years in state prison. Lilliana Ruvalcaba Diaz, 30, of Banning admitted the felony charge, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of fleeing the scene
Continue Reading
Officials have confirmed a man killed in a crash during a police pursuit last week in Twentynine Palms was a Marine. The coroner’s office identified the man as Stephen Bradley Rainoff, 25, of Twentynine Palms. On Wednesday, Marine officials confirmed that Rainoff was part of the 1st Marine Division stationed at the Twentynine Palms base.
Continue Reading
A police pursuit ended with a stolen truck crashing into the fence of a Palm Springs home Wednesday morning. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department told News Channel 3 the incident began at around 11 a.m. when deputies began following a stolen vehicle near Dillon Road and Palm Drive in North Palm Springs. Authorities said the
Continue Reading
A 29-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a man in Cathedral City pleaded not guilty to murder charges today. Daniel Morales Jr. of Cathedral City was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing Juan Gonzalez, 48, according to the Cathedral City Police Department. Daniel Morales Jr. On Monday, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office charged Morales
Continue Reading
A probationer accused of gunning down the 24-year-old mother of his children in Desert Hot Springs was ordered today to stand trial. Jesse Rico Valenzuela, 29, of Desert Hot Springs, is charged with murder for the killing of Amina Duro in November 2020. He is also charged with two felony counts of being a felon
Continue Reading
The investigation into Riverside County’s foster care and dependent adult programs following the mishandling of the Turpin children case is delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles, an attorney said on Tuesday. In Jan. 2018, authorities discovered the 13 Turpin siblings were held captive, abused, and tortured by their parents, David Allen Turpin, 59, and Louise Ann
Continue Reading
The murder trial for Lisa Vargas is moving forward. She’s the mother of unlicensed bail agent Fabian Herrera who forced entry into a condo and shot and killed a Palm Springs man last April. Vargas said she accompanied her son the night of the shooting as “back up,” despite not being trained or licensed as
Continue Reading
A 30-year-old man who was accused of shooting at three men at a Coachella convenience store in 2015, injuring two of them, was acquitted today of attempted murder and assault charges, but convicted of illegally possessing a firearm. Alonso Vega Aguilar was originally charged with two felony counts of attempted murder and one felony count
Continue Reading