A Riverside County man who engaged in a years-long scheme to defraud the U.S. Veterans Administration, stealing over $100 million by falsifying records to make it appear veterans were attending educational programs that they weren’t, was sentenced today to a year in federal prison. Philip Abod, 57, of Calimesa was sentenced during a hearing at
Continue Reading
Authorities today identified two suspects who were arrested in connection with an alleged road-rage shooting in Lancaster that left a 4-year-old boy dead. The shooting occurred at about 7:30 p.m. Friday in the area of Sierra Highway and East Avenue J, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. On Monday, the sheriff’s department identified
Continue Reading
Felony charges were filed today against two women and a man suspected of being involved in retail thefts in Riverside County, including a recent one at a La Quinta business, from which $2300 of merchandise was stolen. Khamyra Smith, 19, of Moreno Valley and 18-year-olds Derrick Yanders of Fontana and Chynae Welch of Eastvale were
Continue Reading
A La Quinta man was convicted today of attacking several people with rocks, including two sheriff’s deputies, one of whom shot him. Â Â Christopher Curci, 28, was found guilty of two felony counts each of assault with a deadly weapon to cause great bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, and burglary,
Continue Reading
A 27-year-old man convicted in connection with the 2020 fatal shooting of a father of four in Cathedral City was sentenced today to 15 years to life in prison. Jose Sanchez-Casas was found guilty Oct. 18 of one felony count each of murder and shooting at a dwelling, according to court records. He was also
Continue Reading
A 20-year-old man and three juveniles were arrested during a weapons investigation in which several firearms and approximately 42 pounds of suspected fentanyl were found, authorities said today. The Coachella man was arrested on suspicion of several weapon-related charges, child endangerment and violation of probation, according to Sgt. Cameron James. Two juveniles of an undetermined
Continue Reading
A 53-year-old woman who allegedly refused to drop a knife when confronted by law enforcement in Palm Desert, prompting a deputy to shoot her, pleaded not guilty today on felony charges. Kelly Lynette Cronn of Palm Desert was charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, according to
Continue Reading Jury deliberations began today in the trial of a La Quinta man suspected of attacking several people with rocks, including two sheriff’s deputies, one of whom shot him. Christopher Curci, 28, is charged with three counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause great bodily injury, two counts each
Continue Reading
A 23-year-old schizophrenic and chronic marijuana user today was found sane when he fatally shot a young man and woman as they watched a movie at a Corona theater. Late Tuesday afternoon, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst summarily announced his ruling after the defense and prosecution concluded closing statements in the roughly two
Continue Reading
A 44-year-old man accused of accosting a Jewish couple in their 70s in Beverly Hills, attacking the man with a belt while allegedly making antisemitic comments and attempting to rob the woman, was charged today with elder abuse and other charges, along with a hate crime allegation. Jarrin Jay Silagi was also charged with assault
Continue Reading
Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported Guatemalan citizen with a rape conviction at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint near the Salton Sea. The arrest happened on Dec. 4 at around 11:20 p.m. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a red SUV approached the Border Patrol checkpoint. Agents sent the vehicle to secondary inspection
Continue Reading
Felony charges were filed today against a 39-year-old woman suspected of stealing a golf cart in La Quinta, which led deputies to serve a search warrant in Indio, where three other people were arrested when a handgun, drugs and drug paraphernalia were allegedly found. Lydia Ruiz was charged with one felony count each of taking
Continue Reading
Three men suspected of stealing high-valued tools from a business in Rancho Mirage and committing similar crimes throughout California for several months were charged today with one felony count of organized retail theft. Feliciano Gonzalez, 40, of Perris, 35-year-old Eric Arias of Colton and 41-year-old Felipe Chavez of San Bernardino were scheduled to be
Continue Reading
A 19-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting his best friend, a 17-year-old boy, in Sky Valley earlier this year must stand trial on a murder charge, a judge ruled today. Alexis Yahir Duran of Cathedral City also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, according to court records. The charges
Continue Reading A La Quinta man went to a house with the intent to kill someone and hit two people with a rock, which he then threw in the direction of two deputies, one of whom was hit in the leg, a prosecutor told jurors today, but the defendant’s defense attorney said his client went to the
Continue Reading
Three men were arrested for allegedly stealing high-valued tools from a business in Rancho Mirage and committing similar crimes throughout California for several months, authorities said today. The suspects, a 40-year-old from Perris, a 35-year-old Colton resident, and a 41-year-old from San Bernardino, were arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of commercial burglary, conspiracy, grand theft,
Continue Reading
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that left one person injured overnight Thursday in Thermal. The shooting was first reported at around 1:08 a.m. in the area of 64th Avenue and Jackson Street. Deputies responded to a report of a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound, an RSO spokesperson told News
Continue Reading
An ex-cop created a false narrative in his head and acted unreasonably when he fatally shot a developmentally disabled man in a Corona Costco and critically wounded the victim’s parents, a prosecutor told jurors today, but a defense attorney said his client only had seconds to react after being “brutally, violently and unexpectedly” knocked to
Continue Reading
A 911 service outage continued Tuesday morning in the City of Indio as residents were being urged to call a backup number to receive emergency assistance. Indio Police told KESQ News Channel 3 Monday evening its emergency calls were being rerouted to the City of Palm Springs 911 emergency dispatch center, then being redirected to Indio’s dispatch center
Continue Reading
A 27-year-old man who burglarized several vehicles in Rancho Mirage, with stolen property and damages exceeding $25,000, pleaded guilty to felony charges today and was immediately sentenced to four years in state prison. Osman Uriel Arellano of Coachella, pleaded guilty Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one felony count each of receiving
Continue Reading