A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty today to an amended charge of assault with a semi-automatic firearm in the shooting of a 32-year-old Coachella resident. Judge Melissa Hale sentenced Jeraldo Mederos to 14 years in state prison Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio after the defendant entered his guilty plea. Mederos, who previously pleaded
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The last of four suspects in a stabbing at a Desert Hot Springs hotel pleaded guilty today to multiple charges. Â Â Jaime Eduardo Reynaga, 39, pleaded guilty to assault causing great bodily injury and first-degree burglary Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 8, according to court
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The State Parole Board has rescinded early parole for a convicted child rapist from Riverside County. Cody Woodsen Klemp, 68, will remain in prison to continue to serve his 170-year prison sentence. Klemp was convicted in 1994 of 40 felonies involving the repeated rape of an underage victim. The teenager had been in the care
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El Centro Sector agents assisted San Bernardino Police Department and Riverside County Sheriff’s Office in a joint operation arresting 51 subjects. Officers seized: $325,000 20 stolen vehicles 20 rifles and handguns and ammo 425 pounds of methamphetamine 48 gallons of liquid methamphetamine $8 million worth of recovered stolen cargo 1 operational meth lab
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A 23-year-old Riverside man suspected of maintaining an illegal fireworks stash weighing about a half-ton, as well as a sawed-off shotgun, was out of custody today on a $35,000 bond. The suspect was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside last month on suspicion of possession of destructive devices, possession of unlicensed
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The Cathedral City Police Department released officer videos from the incident the in Shadow Crest neighborhood in Cathedral City in June of 2023. Investigators say that the incident began when a homeowner called 9-1-1 to report that their home had been shot at. Upon arrival, officers confirmed that a shooting did in fact occur at
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Tow truck drivers from around the region gathered in Palm Desert to hold a vigil and procession in honor of a tow truck driver killed in a hit-and-run crash last week. Johnny Sofranko was struck by a vehicle while helping a stranded motorist on the side of the Interstate 10 highway in Palm Desert, east
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Pretrial motions began today ahead of jury selection in the trial of a 48-year-old Coachella Valley man accused of gunning down a motel guest during an altercation in Riverside. Robert Donald Intong of Desert Hot Springs was arrested in 2021 following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the slaying of 31-year-old Cole William Birchard. Intong
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A sentencing date was pending today for three ex-lawmen and a tow company operator who perpetrated a scam that involved the deputies steering business to the proprietor in exchange for bribes. After deliberating barely two days, a Riverside jury on Friday convicted former Riverside County sheriff’s Lt. Samuel Flores, former sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Martin Christolon
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Two men were arrested Sunday afternoon on suspicion of negligently discharging multiple firearms in Coachella. The incident was first reported just before 4:00 p.m. on Camino Coras, just east of Calhoun Street. Deputies were called out for reports of gunfire in the area. Deputies located the residence and a search warrant was authored and served
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Heavy police presence has been reported at an RV park near the unincorporated community of Sky Valley. There is a heavy police presence on the 71000 block of Dillon Road. A spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were first dispatched to the area at around 12:15 p.m. regarding a verbal argument. Deputies determined
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Jury selection is slated to conclude next month for the trial of a Jurupa Valley man and his nephew accused of killing the man’s estranged wife, then framing her boyfriend for the murder, causing the innocent man to spend nearly two decades in prison. Googie Rene Harris Sr., 67, and Joaquin L. Leal, 58, are
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A 38-year-old Riverside County man who distributed fentanyl out of his apartment, sending packets of the powerful synthetic opiate through the U.S. mail, was sentenced today to 19 years in federal prison. Â Â Ignacio Alcala pleaded guilty in November in downtown Los Angeles to four federal charges: two counts of distribution of fentanyl, and one
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On the evening of June 27, deputies attempted to stop a vehicle whose driver has a felony warrant, at Highway 62 and North Star Trail in Morongo Valley. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the driver failed to yield and a pursuit ensued. The male driver stopped and exited the vehicle at Highway
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A San Bernardino County man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring with people to distribute hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills throughout the United States, the Department of Justice announced. Court documents state that on March 17, 2021, George Anthony Manzo, a 37-year-old man
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A 23-year-old man suspected in a late-night shooting that injured two people in Palm Springs must stand trial for attempted murder and assault with a gun, a judge ruled today. Joel Ramirez Benitez of Palm Springs was also held to answer a sentence-enhancing allegation of causing great bodily injury during a preliminary hearing Thursday at
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A suspect was taken into custody after an hours-long standoff at a shopping center in Yucca Valley. The situation started at around 8:00 a.m. at the Stater Bros at 57075 29 Palms Highway. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded to a report of a person inside the store who busted through
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On Wednesday, June 26, at 2:00 PM, deputies assigned to the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to a bank robbery at U.S. Bank in the 72000 block of Highway 111, Palm Desert. Upon arrival, deputies were told that the subject had fled from the location. During the investigation, deputies learned that the suspect had
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A 30-year-old motorist accused of intentionally running down a motorcyclist in Thousand Palms and attempting to flee the scene was charged today with murder. Erick Robert Cowdery of Palm Desert is accused of striking the victim around 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Varner and Ramon roads, according to a statement from the Riverside
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Felony charges were filed today against three men accused of burglarizing a pool supply business in South Palm Springs. Â Â Christopher Gwin, 49, of Riverside, 44-year-old Robert Firman of Riverside and 51-year-old Kevin Bean of Norco were arrested Sunday afternoon and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio. All three men were charged
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