CALEXICO, Calif. (KESQ) — Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Calexico West Port of Entry made a vehicle stop last week that led to the discovery of a total of 47 pounds of four different drugs. The smuggling attempt happened on Tuesday, February 18. CBP officers wanted a closer inspection of a car
Continue Reading
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Pretrial motions got underway today ahead of jury selection for the trial of a former Palm Desert High School football coach accused of running over and killing a 64-year-old woman while driving under the influence. Cameron Francis Curtis, 33, of Palm Desert allegedly fatally struck Nancy Valdes, also of Palm Desert,
Continue Reading
The Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs goal is to enhance public safety in Palm Springs. The DFR program, recently approved, is a concept where drones are strategically placed on rooftops throughout cities, William Hutchinson, Palm Springs Lieutenant explained. “You have a team listening to 911 calls coming in,” Hutchinson said. “Those operators are sending
Continue Reading
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A Riverside County man has agreed to plead guilty to filing false income tax returns after selling Stan Lee-signed memorabilia and receiving more than $1.2 million in proceeds which he never reported to the IRS, officials announced today. Mac Martin Anderson, 59, of Corona will enter a plea in downtown Los
Continue Reading
Deputies are asking for the community’s help in finding a driver involved in a hit-and-run crash Wednesday morning in Yucca Valley that left a 74-year-old man with major injuries. The crash was reported at around 8:05 a.m. near the intersection of Grand Avenue and SR-62 (Twentynine Palms Highway). Authorities said the driver of a red
Continue Reading
RAMONA, Calif. (KESQ) – A Cal Fire captain allegedly murdered by her wife at their Ramona home sought to leave her marriage shortly before she was killed, according to an arrest warrant declaration issued for the veteran firefighter’s spouse. The declaration from a San Diego County District Attorney’s Office peace officer states Yolanda Marodi, 53,
Continue Reading
A 39-year-old man was arrested following a weapons investigation Monday in Desert Hot Springs. The man was arrested after a Desert Hot Springs police, with the assistance of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau/SWAT and K-9 units, executed multiple search warrants and an arrest warrant, according to the Desert Hot Springs Police Officers’ Association.
Continue Reading
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Jury selection got underway today for the trial of a 34-year-old man accused of gunning down his estranged wife at a mobile home park in La Quinta while inflamed over notions she was having affairs with other men. Â Â Jose Valles Meza of La Quinta is charged with first-degree murder, a
Continue Reading
A juvenile was arrested Friday night for an armed robbery of a Palm Springs Five Guys restaurant. Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills announced the incident via Instagram. According to Mills, the juvenile stole money from the store with a BB gun. The suspect fled the scene shortly after, leading to a foot pursuit. The
Continue Reading RAMONA, Calif. (KESQ) – Authorities reached out to the public today for help in finding an ex-con suspected of killing her wife, a veteran state firefighter, at the victim’s Ramona home this week more than 20 years after pleading guilty in the slaying of her estranged husband. Detectives believe that 53-year-old Yolanda Marodi fatally stabbed
Continue Reading
Two Desert Hot Springs residents were in custody today on suspicion of vehicle theft and burglary. The men, a 34-year-old and 24-year-old, are suspected in the crime that occurred around 10:30 a.m. Feb. 10 on Buckingham Way in Rancho Mirage, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. According to the department, the suspects “gained access”
Continue Reading
COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – A 42-year-old teacher with the Coachella Valley Unified School District was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a student. Mario Manuel Valenzuela of Coachella was arrested on Friday on charges of lewd acts on a child. The investigation into Valenzuela’s arrest started in December when the student told school administrators that
Continue Reading
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Prosecution testimony got underway Wednesday in the trial of a felon accused of killing his year-old daughter and stabbing his pregnant wife after turning irate during a child custody exchange in Indian Wells. Adam Slater, 53, of Palm Desert allegedly killed baby Madalyn in 2020 during an act of rage that
Continue Reading
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A June 11 trial date was confirmed today for a 23-year-old woman accused of joining two young men in robbing and killing a Riverside man in his apartment. Merlin Perales Ortiz of Yucca Valley was arrested in December 2020 following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the slaying of 20-year-old Wesley
Continue Reading
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — $213,000 worth of drugs were found hidden in a semi-truck at the Highway 86 checkpoint near the Salton Sea. The discovery was made last Wednesday. At approximately 10:46 a.m., a yellow semi-truck approached the U.S. Border Patrol State Route 86 immigration checkpoint and was referred for secondary inspection. During the secondary
Continue Reading
BEAUMONT, Calif. (KESQ) – Costa Mesa police reached out to the public today to identify possible additional victims of a man arrested in Beaumont who is suspected of committing lewd acts with a pair of teenage girls. Peter Michael Mejia, 27, of Redlands, was arrested Monday, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department. He has
Continue Reading
RAMONA, Calif. (KESQ) – Detectives investigating the fatal stabbing of a Cal Fire captain in her Ramona home “are treating this case as a potential domestic-violence incident,” a Sheriff’s lieutenant said today. Deputies responding to a report of an assault about 9 p.m. Monday found Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, 49, mortally wounded at her residence in
Continue Reading
SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man confronted by California Highway Patrol officers for allegedly throwing rocks at passing vehicles just north of San Jacinto was fatally shot when he threw rocks at them, authorities said today. The shooting occurred shortly before 5 p.m. Monday on Gilman Springs Road, just east of Highway 79, according
Continue Reading
A suspect is in custody after a high-speed pursuit ended in a brief standoff Monday afternoon. The incident started at Noon when deputies saw a vehicle reported stolen in the area of 66th Avenue and Tyler Street in Thermal, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies followed the vehicle and a pursuit was later
Continue Reading
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A hidden surveillance camera was found in a Palm Springs neighborhood sparking a call from police for residents to be vigilant and inspect their properties. Police said the camera was disguised as plants and grass in a local yard in the Las Palmas neighborhood. It’s the only known incident of
Continue Reading