Four Riverside County-based members of an anti-government militia group were convicted of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and other federal charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors announced today.  The attack on the building disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to certify the results
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An ex-CIA employee living in San Diego County pleaded guilty today to drugging and sexually abusing multiple women, as well as recording and photographing unconscious victims. Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 47, who was charged in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty to four federal counts, including abusive sexual contact and transportation of obscene material. Raymond’s plea
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A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested at work on Monday on suspicion of possessing narcotics, the agency announced on Tuesday. Samuel Espinoza, 35, of Fontana was employed as a San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriff for the past five years and was assigned to the Transportation Division. He voluntarily resigned from the Sheriff’s Department
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A Coachella man was arrested on suspicion of stealing several high-value golf clubs and equipment in La Quinta. The theft was reported to Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies on Oct. 28 within the 81000 block of Contento Street, the agency reported on Tuesday. Deputies were told the items were stolen from a vehicle. The La Quinta
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A 39-year-old man accused of killing his fiance at her Woodcrest home and fleeing to Mexico, then returning to the United States where he was apprehended almost three years later, must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled today. Eduardo Avalos Escoto allegedly killed 42-year-old Brandie Frazier in 2019. Brandie Frazier (Courtesy of Riverside County
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Update 11/7/23 Juan Reyes pled not guilty to his charges on Tuesday. He is being held without bail. Original Report 11/6/23 A man suspected in the fatal shooting of another man who was found last week outside a vehicle in Whitewater pleaded not guilty to murder today. Daniel Tomas Pacheco, 40, of Whitewater and Juan
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Two Los Angeles men who allegedly supplied fentanyl-laced pills and methamphetamine for a drug trafficking organization that used the darknet and encrypted messaging to sell narcotics to people in all 50 states are facing federal charges, officials announced today.  The two-count indictment charges Omar Navia, 38, of South Los Angeles, and Adan Ruiz, 27, of
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A juvenile pair of suspected auto thieves were arrested after a pursuit ended in Indio Tuesday morning. Officers encircled the Trilogy community at Avenue 51 and Jackson Street when two suspects jumped from a car that had been reported stolen and ran into the gated complex at 6:00 a.m. A spokesman for Indio Police said
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Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a 37-year-old man accused of gunning down his octogenarian grandparents inside a gated community in Palm Desert. Frank Scott Castro III is charged with two counts of murder, along with a special circumstance allegation of perpetrating multiple killings and sentence-enhancing allegations of discharging a firearm causing great
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A 66-year-old man was found guilty today of first-degree murder for fatally stabbing his girlfriend during a frenzied attack in Palm Springs that was ignited when she told him their relationship was finished. Along with the murder count, a Riverside jury convicted Miguel Hernandez Toscano of child cruelty and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a
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An 18-year-old man suspected with three others in a jewelry store robbery in Palm Desert last month pleaded not guilty today to felony charges. Julian Hermosillo, 18, of Los Angeles was charged with one felony count each of robbery, organized retail theft, and grand theft of over $950, according to court records. He pleaded
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A Cathedral City man suspected in the fentanyl poisoning death of a 22-year-old man on New Year’s Day last year re-entered a not guilty plea today to murder. Riley Jacob Hagar, 26, initially pleaded not guilty to the charge Sept. 2, 2022 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to court records. At the
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Police today were investigating a late-night shooting that resulted in two men injured in Cathedral City. Officers responded at 11:54 p.m. Thursday to a report of gunshots heard in the area of C Street and West Buddy Rogers Avenue, according to Cathedral City Police Department Commander Rick Sanchez. “Officers responded and began an area check,”
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A Temecula man convicted of providing a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 26-year-old woman has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in Riverside County’s first fentanyl murder case to go before a jury. In August, Vicente David Romero, 34, was guilty of the murder count, as well as possession of controlled
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A 39-year-old man who broke into his neighbor’s home in Palm Desert was convicted today of felony and misdemeanor charges related to the incident.  Stephen Eric Cunningham of Palm Desert was convicted of one felony count each of possession of an assault weapon and possession of a firearm as well as one misdemeanor count each
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Two schools in Thermal, as well as the CVUSD office, were briefly placed on a preventative lockdown due to police activity in the area, officials confirmed. John Kelly Elementary, La Familia High School, and the District Office were lockdown, CVUSD spokesperson Andrea Pasolini confirmed. The lockdowns were lifted by 2:10 p.m. The Riverside County Sheriff’s
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Nearly $10 million worth of drugs were seized over a two-day period last weekend at ports of entry in San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Calexico and Tecate, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced today.  CBP officers seized more than 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine fentanyl pills, cocaine and other drugs on Friday and Saturday, which the
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A third-grade student from Bella Vista Elementary School is being remembered as a “baseball angel” by the school community after a deadly car crash. A spokesperson for Palm Springs Unified School District confirmed the death and that a crisis team was on campus to assist students. Donations are now being accepted online and at the
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Police arrested a fourth suspect in connection with a smash-and-grab robbery at a jewelry store in Palm Desert. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that an 18-year-old man from Los Angeles was arrested. The suspect was arrested after authorities served search warrants Thursday at 2500 block of Macy Street in San Bernardino, and
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Jurors began deliberating today in the trial against a 39-year-old man suspected of breaking into his neighbor’s home in Palm Desert. Â Â Stephen Eric Cunningham of Palm Desert is charged with one felony count each of burglary, possession of an assault weapon, and possessing a firearm, according to court records. He also faces one misdemeanor
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