SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KESQ) – The man who started the devastating Line Fire in San Bernardino County faces life in prison after being found guilty of multiple charges. Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, of Norco was found guilty of seven counts related to the Line Fire, and two counts related to a subsequent fire, including aggravated
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The suspect in Saturday’s bombing in Palm Springs had access to a large quantity of commercially available chemical products. The products could be used to create a homemade explosive device, the FBI announced on Thursday. Today at 4 p.m., News Channel 3’s Peter Daut speaks with a spokesperson for the
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Opening statements began in the trial of a real estate developer accused of providing six-figure bribes to former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who pleaded guilty last week to a slate of felony charges connected to his support for the defendant’s projects. John Elroy Wessman, 86, is charged with nine counts
Continue Reading PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Remains found at the scene of Saturday’s Palm Springs explosion were a positive match for the suspect after DNA testing, the FBI confirmed. FBI officials have said they are “fairly confident” that 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms was responsible for Saturday’s bombing. Bartkus was killed in the blast,
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Update 6/4/25 A Washington state man was arrested in connection with the Palm Springs bombing. Daniel Park, of Kent, Washington, was charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist. More Details: WA man arrested for allegedly aiding Palm Springs fertility clinic bomber Original Report: 5/19/25 PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Police
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Two men accused of killing a man and wounding two others in an attack in Palm Springs must stand trial for murder and other charges, a judge ruled today. Anastascio Jesus Machuca, 23, and Antonio Marins, 24, were arrested in 2022 following the alleged shooting in the area of East Ramon
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Update 5/19/25 Two minors were identified as the suspects behind the anti-Semitic graffiti that occurred on the morning of May 4 in the 45000 block of Deep Canyon Road, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced. “Following the release of surveillance photographs to the public, investigators received multiple credible tips that led to the identification of
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — Reactions are pouring in this weekend as elected officials and desert residents respond to news of the Palm Springs terrorist attack that killed one person, who authorities have now identified as the suspect, and injured four others. News Channel 3 crews have been on the ground in Palm Springs since
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A jury is set in the high-profile public corruption case against developer John Wessman, who’s accused of bribing former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet in exchange for favorable treatment on city projects. Opening statements are set to start Monday at 9 a.m. at the Banning Justice Center. Wessman, 86, has pleaded
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COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A Coachella man has been arrested for making a series of threats, including a hoax bomb call, at local stores this month. Carlos Alberto Contreras, 43, was arrested on Wednesday. The District Attorney’s office filed charges of Falsely Reporting of Bomb, Falsely Reporting an Emergency, Petty Theft with Prior Convictions,
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A Banning man who sexually assaulted a developmentally disabled woman over a five-year span was sentenced today to eight years in state prison. Rene Leonel Robles Cerna, 39, pleaded guilty last month to sexual penetration by force under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet pleaded guilty in a bribery case stemming from an alleged scheme to buy off the mayor to ensure his support for a real estate developer’s projects. Hear from former Palm Springs Mayors Robert Moon and Geoff Kors, who dealt with the fallout of the bribery
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Update 5/14/25 The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against foster parents and their adult daughter, accused of torturing six children. “It is alleged that the foster parents and their adult daughter subjected all six children (aged four – sixteen), to years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse,” reads a DA’s office news
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A second man has been convicted in the murder of a Cathedral City convenience store owner gunned down during a botched robbery. Joel Ortiz Hidalgo, 23, of Desert Hot Springs, was found guilty in the 2021 slaying of 61-year-old Chris Sgouromitis of Cathedral City. In addition to a murder charge, Ortiz
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MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Pretrial motions got underway today ahead of jury selection for the trial of a man accused of gunning down a 17-year-old Cathedral City boy in a car-to-car shooting. Juan Alfredo Landeros Garcia, 24, of Cathedral City is charged with first-degree murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and sentence-enhancing gun and great
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Several arrests were made in the Coachella Valley over the weekend during DUI checkpoints conducted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. In Coachella, deputies arrested two drivers for DUI and one person for alleged narcotics sales during a Friday night checkpoint on Cesar Chavez Street, according to the department. In
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A suspect was arrested on Thursday in connection with the fatal three-car crash on March 27, 2024 at the intersection of North Indian Canyon Drive and 20th Avenue in Palm Springs. Following an investigation by the Palm Springs Police Department Traffic Division, a 66-year-old Desert Hot Springs man was identified
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UPDATE 05/09/2025: RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A former Palm Desert High School football coach who ran over and killed a 64-year-old caregiver while driving under the influence was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison. Cameron Francis Curtis, 33, of Palm Desert fatally struck Nancy Valdes, also of Palm Desert, in 2023.
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man who gunned down a Cathedral City convenience store owner during a botched robbery was convicted today of first-degree murder and other offenses. An Indio jury deliberated one day before finding Charles Lamar Campbell, 23, of Beaumont guilty in the 2021 slaying of 61-year-old Chris Sgouromitis of Cathedral City. Along
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A convicted felon who allegedly joined a woman in breaking into a Palm Desert business, stealing tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise, must stand trial for second-degree burglary, a judge ruled today. Â Â Michael James Graham, 55, of Lakewood was previously arrested in 2023 as part of a Riverside County
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