INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Defense testimony is slated to last all next week in the trial of an ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of gunning down a man with whom he was at odds because the victim had been involved with the lawman’s then-girlfriend. Oscar Rodriguez, 44, is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing gun
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – An 86-year-old real estate developer accused of giving then-Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet with six-figure bribes to win his support for projects violated the “public trust,” putting a politician in his pocket to satisfy his greed, a prosecutor said today, while the defense countered that the real corruption lies with a
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MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Two of three men who abducted, severely beat and fatally shot an Anza man because they believed he might snitch on them for perpetrating thefts at marijuana grows were both convicted this week of first-degree murder. Â Â George Frank Holley Jr., 42, of Oklahoma City and Nico Manuel Zahir, 30, of
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MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Defense testimony began today in the trial of a young man accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old Cathedral City boy during a street confrontation possibly stemming from ill-will that developed when the two worked together. Juan Alfredo Landeros Garcia, 26, of Cathedral City, is charged with first-degree murder, shooting at an
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – The defense is slated to rest Thursday, setting the stage for closing arguments, in the trial of a real estate developer accused of enriching the one-time mayor of Palm Springs with six-figure bribes to cinch his support for downtown projects. Testimony in the trial of 86-year-old John Elroy Wessman got underway
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CABAZON, Calif. (KESQ) – Â An acre-wide fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon on a mountainside near Cabazon was likely the result of arson. The Elm Fire was first reported at around 3:00 p.m. in the area of Adele Avenue and Elm Street. Riverside County Fire Department officials said multiple engine crews and a Cal Fire
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Riverside County prosecutors will decide in the coming weeks whether to retry a convicted felon accused of second-degree murder for directly conspiring with a friend to burglarize a Desert Hot Springs house, where the friend was fatally shot by an occupant. After two days of deliberations, a Riverside jury announced Monday
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A Yucca Valley man has been charged with threatening to assassinate then-President-elect Donald Trump after last year’s election, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. Thomas Eugene Streavel, 73, of Yucca Valley, was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of making threats against the President-elect, the DOJ confirmed. Streavel was arraigned
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Cathedral City man arrested after five kittens were found dead in a trash bag was arraigned on Tuesday. Jorge Edwin Ramirez pleaded not guilty to five counts of animal cruelty charges. Ramirez was arrested on April 29Â on the 32300 block of Aurora Vista Road after a resident called police and
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KESQ) – FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Joint Terrorism Task Force Amir Ehsaei reported on Friday that the processing of the Palm Springs bombing crime and post blast scene is complete. The Evidence Response Team and Special Agent Bomb Technicians have been at work and investigating the area since the
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Palm Desert man convicted of killing his year-old daughter and stabbing his pregnant wife after turning irate during a child custody exchange in Indian Wells received the death penalty. An Indio jury in March convicted Adam Slater, 54, of Palm Desert of first-degree murder for the 2020 slaying of baby
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A motorist who killed a 36-year-old woman whose sedan he rear-ended while driving under the influence in Palm Desert was bound for state prison today to serve a sentence of 15 years to life behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. Alberto Lopez, 28, of Coachella admitted the felony count
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Editor’s Note: The Palm Springs Police Department listed the suspect as a 29-year-old, however, county jail records show that the suspect is 42 years old. The article has been updated with the correct information PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A 42-year-old man was arrested in connection with a deadly DUI crash earlier this year in
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A 40-year-old man accused of inflicting deadly injuries on an infant he was babysitting in San Jacinto was charged today with first-degree murder and other offenses. Alejandro Cuevas of Beaumont was arrested last week following a months-long Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the death of the baby girl. Along with
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (CNS) — The Palm Springs fertility clinic that was targeted in what authorities have described as an act of domestic terrorism reopened its doors at a temporary location on Tuesday. Officials with American Reproductive Centers said they would be open for existing patients, but anyone interested in becoming a new patient was
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs police asked for the public’s help today in identifying the driver involved in a hit-and-run collision that killed a woman. Officers responded shortly after 11:30 p.m. Friday to a report of a crash involving a pedestrian at East Palm Canyon Drive and South Camino Real, according to the
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – New details have emerged about Guy Edward Bartkus, the suspect behind the deadly May 17 bombing at a Palm Springs fertility clinic. According to a newly released report from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Bartkus had previously expressed ideations of attacking clinics. Investigators say he held anti-natalist beliefs —
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SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Beaumont man has been arrested in connection with the death of a four-month-old baby. The suspect, a 40-year-old man, was identified as an associate of the victim’s family. He was arrested Friday afternoon and remains in custody at the Larry Smith Correctional Facility. He has not been officially charged,
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 34-year-old La Quinta man was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife. Jose Valles Meza was convicted in March of first-degree murder for gunning down his estranged wife while inflamed over notions she was having affairs with other men in 2019. The jury
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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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