A 21-year-old reputed gang member who helped a fellow gang member elude capture after the man allegedly gunned down a Cathedral City resident in 2020 pleaded guilty today to three felony charges and two misdemeanor counts. Joel Sanchez of Cathedral City pleaded guilty to felony charges of being an accessory after the fact, carrying a
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A 28-year-old man from Hemet was behind bars today on suspicion of burglarizing $2,000 worth of products from a Desert Hot Springs cannabis dispensary. The suspect was arrested Monday morning in San Jacinto on suspicion of burglary and being a felon and gang member in possession of a firearm, according to Detective Sgt. Christopher Saucer
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As we close out 2022, we take a look back at some of the biggest crime stories over the past year in the desert. The first murder of the year in the valley happened in Palm Springs on Jan. 11 in the parking lot at Raising Cane’s. A 32-year-old man was shot and killed. Just
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The California Highway Patrol put a call out to the community for help in identifying a tractor-trailer involved in a deadly rollover crash on the I-10 near State Route 62 on Christmas night. The crash happened at around 9:45 p.m. on the eastbound side of Interstate 10, just west of State Route 62. A driver,
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The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department released body camera video of a deadly deputy-involved shooting that occurred last month in Cabazon. FULL VIDEO RELEASE (VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED) The shooting happened after a traffic stop on Carmen Avenue west of Rafael Street on Nov. 12, 2022. Authorities said the suspect, identified as Kenneth Scott Wallis, 38, of
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A police pursuit ended in a crash in Palm Desert Friday evening. The pursuit ended near the intersection of Hovley Lane and Washington Street at around 5:15 p.m. Viewers called the newsroom reporting a heavy police presence in the area. A spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dept. confirmed the pursuit started due to a
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A Cathedral City man was ordered today to stand trial for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy and showing the boy pornographic videos.  David Hadley Pio, 63, was charged with four felony counts — two of committing a lewd act on a child under 14, and one each of committing three or more lewd acts on
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A Riverside County mother is demanding justice after she was attacked with her baby. The case is one of more than 1,000 countywide that have been dismissed by Riverside County Superior Court judges because there were no courtrooms available. Clarissa Guevara is caught on grainy surveillance video being attacked with her 1-year-old daughter in her
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We’ve learned that an 88-year-old man charged in a crash that killed a 9-year-old girl walking home after being dropped off by a school bus near Desert Hot Springs has posted bail and has an arraignment date set. The DA’s office had issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the driver, Robert William Hanson.
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A Los Angeles man who caused a fatal Palm Springs crash in July while driving under the influence of alcohol pleaded guilty today to a murder charge. In addition to murder, Kevin Atteberry, 57, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury and DUI of alcohol with 0.08% or more causing
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Update 12/22/22 PSPD announced both officers injured have been released from the hospital. Original Report 12/20/22 Two Palm Springs police officers were hospitalized after a suspect rammed their vehicle into them during a pursuit, pinning them between two vehicles, Tuesday night. The incident started shortly before 10:00 p.m. when Palm Springs Police Department Crime Suppression
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A 48-year-old soccer coach suspected of sexually assaulting a teen girl pleaded not guilty to two felony charges today. Â Â Rosario Navarro Gonzalez of Menifee was charged with two felony counts of a lewd act on a minor, according to court records. Â Â He pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday morning at the Larson
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One of two men accused in a 2019 street racing collision that killed two senior citizens in Coachella was ordered today to stand trial on felony charges. Angel Ramirez, 40, is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence stemming from the May 17, 2019, crash that killed Sofia Prieto, 74, and her
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A 48-year-old former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent from Riverside who sexually assaulted two women was convicted today of federal charges. Following a nearly two-week trial at U.S. District Court in downtown Riverside, a jury found John Jacobs Olivas guilty of three counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. U.S. District Judge
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A 20-year-old man accused of shooting multiple times at a man standing in a Coachella front yard pleaded guilty today to an attempted murder charge and was immediately sentenced to nine years in state prison. Ramiro Reyes of Coachella was originally charged with one count each of attempted murder and being in possession of a
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A 29-year-old felon who stole from a La Quinta business earlier this year is facing 16 months in state prison after pleading guilty to a grand theft charge. Adrian Nicholas Vanwinkle of Desert Hot Springs was charged with two felony counts, one each of grand theft of over $950 and vandalism, according to court records.
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A Palm Desert man who arranged over the internet to meet what he thought would be a 13-year-old girl for sex pleaded guilty today to a felony. Marino Aaron Lopez, 31, was originally charged with six felony counts — two of oral copulation with a person 10 to 14 years old, and one each of
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — After a former state trooper from Virginia drove across the country, kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl, killed three members of her family, then shot himself, Virginia State Police and the sheriff’s office he had recently started working for said they found no warning signs during background checks before he was hired.
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According to the Department of Justice data, crime reports are down in Desert Hot Springs between the years 2001 and 2021. “I honestly feel like you don’t really see a lot of crime,” says Pattie Cruz, owner of Kali Certified Flowers. Kali-certified flowers have been a family business in desert hot springs for eight years. Cruz has
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The number of cases dismissed by Riverside County judges contending with a backlog that accumulated during the COVID public health lockdowns is just under 1,100, many of them assault and domestic violence filings — as well as a few for attempted murder and kidnapping, the District Attorney’s Office said today. “Our office respectfully disagrees
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