Crime

Jurors deadlocked today in the sanity trial of a 37-year-old man who gunned down his octogenarian grandparents in Palm Desert, in what his attorney contends were acts of a mentally disturbed person, but the prosecution maintains were outright murders. Deliberations began Jan. 11 after a few days of testimony in the mental competency trial of

Attempted murder charges were dropped against a man accused in an Indio shooting two years ago. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to new allegations of committing a felony in association with a gang. Tasaun Thomas, 25, of Indio, and 22-year-old Kevin Rene Duarte were each charged with one felony count of attempted murder and two

A 34-year-old man who slipped into an inebriated woman’s room at the Palm Springs hotel where he worked and sexually assaulted her as she lay unconscious was sentenced today to seven years to life in state prison. A Banning jury in November deliberated less than a day before finding Alejandro “Alex” Adan of Desert Hot

Jury deliberations resumed today in the sanity trial of a 37-year-old man who gunned down his octogenarian grandparents in Palm Desert, in what his attorney contends were acts of a mentally disturbed person, but the prosecution maintains were outright murders. Deliberations began Jan. 11 after a few days of testimony in the mental competency trial

A felon accused of beating a Cabazon man with a chunk of wood and stabbing him multiple times must stand trial on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, a judge ruled today. Sergio Martinez Gutierrez, 45, was arrested last summer following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.   At the end of a preliminary

A convicted felon accused of stabbing a 35-year-old Banning man during a street confrontation, then hitting a police officer with a brick while trying to get away, pleaded not guilty today to assault on a peace officer and other offenses.   Alejandro Munoz, 31, was arrested last week following a Banning Police Department investigation. Along with

A man suspected of shooting a 25-year-old man multiple times in a Coachella parking lot re-entered a not guilty plea to attempted murder today. Issac Vargas, 24, also faces sentence-enhancing allegations of committing a crime while on bail, causing great bodily injury, and discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, according to court records. He

A 37-year-old suspected in the fatal shooting of a man in Indio re-entered not guilty pleas today to felony charges including murder.    Hilario Muela of Indio was charged with one felony count each of murder, being a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, possessing controlled substances while armed, and possessing

A 66-year-old man who fatally stabbed his girlfriend during a frenzied attack in Palm Springs ignited when she ended their relationship was sentenced today to 26 years to life in state prison. A Riverside jury in November convicted Miguel Hernandez Toscano of first-degree murder, child cruelty and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon

A convicted felon accused of stabbing a 35-year-old Banning man during a street confrontation, then hitting a police officer with a brick while trying to get away, was charged today with assault on a peace officer and other offenses.    Alejandro Munoz, 31, was arrested Sunday following a Banning Police Department investigation. Along with the

A 39-year-old man was arrested after a Border Patrol K-9 led agents to find $250,000 worth of liquid methamphetamine over the weekend at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. The arrest happened Saturday at around 4:45 p.m. The driver, a Mexican citizen, was referred to secondary inspection after a Border Patrol K-9 unit alerted agents to

A 30-year-old Desert Hot Springs man who tried to kill his father by severely beating him and setting fire to his mobile home as he lay unconscious on the floor was sentenced today to 17 years to life in state prison.   A Banning jury in November deliberated less than a day before convicting Miguel Angel

A 25-year-old man suspected in a high-speed traffic collision that killed three people in Palm Desert re-entered not guilty pleas today to felony charges of murder. Ricardo Adrian Meza of Palm Desert was charged with three counts of murder for the Dec. 28, 2022, deaths of Elena Morron, 84, of Los Angeles, and Anza residents

A pursuit suspect pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday to charges related to a police chase that ended in a crash that injured a baby last week in Thermal. Christopher Gonzalez, 34, was arraigned in court on Tuesday. He was charged with reckless evading of a peace officer, child endangerment, and hit-and-run with injury. The