Crime

A man who killed an 18-year-old woman, a witness to his attempted murder of her boyfriend, was sentenced to death today.    Alexis Daniel Rosas of Indio, 29, was previously convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder, along with the two special circumstance allegations and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the 2019

Three men accused in a 2020 attack on a man in a Palm Springs mobile home park entered guilty pleas to assault charges today.    Angel Valtierra, 26, Nathan Roldan Ramirez, 25, and Anthony Jose Lopez, 25, each pleaded guilty to one felony count of assault resulting in great bodily injury, according to court records.

A 27-year-old Corona man accused of leaving La Quinta Middle School with a then-12-year-old girl he had been communicating with via social media was sentenced today after pleading guilty in September. Joshua Meza previously entered guilty pleas to six felony counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 and one felony count

A 38-year-old man suspected of supplying a lethal dose of fentanyl to a 30-year-old man in Palm Desert must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled today. Gregory Michael Gauto of Palm Desert was held to answer to the felony charge Friday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, according to case records.    The defendant

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced today the receipt of a nearly $1 million grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) aimed at prosecution costs in DUI cases. The $942,459 grant, which covers “a vertical prosecution team of four deputy district attorneys,” was green-lit by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on

A man was arrested on Friday on suspicion of stealing $2,000 in US currency, electronics, and safes from multiple businesses in Rancho Mirage and Thousand Palms throughout October. The suspect, a 48-year-old from Thousand Palms, was arrested while driving a stolen vehicle in the area of Ramon Road and Thousand Palms Canyon Road in Thousand

A 21-year-old man who entered guilty pleas after sexually assaulting a ride-hailing service driver at the conclusion of the ride while out on bail for a similar assault was sentenced to three years and six months in prison today.   Luis Enrique Lora of Desert Hot Springs pleaded guilty to three sexual battery-related felony counts and

A 2025 trial date was confirmed today for a Coachella man suspected of driving under the influence and causing a crash that killed a 36-year-old woman in Palm Desert. Alberto Lopez, 27, was ordered to stand trial for a felony count of murder in August at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He initially pleaded

A man accused of breaking into an Indio storage unit and stealing items including the ashes of the renter’s deceased son was absent from a scheduled court appearance, authorities said today. Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office told City News Service on Wednesday that Indio resident Wally Venecia failed to show up

An 18-year-old suspect charged along with a teenager of killing another 18-year-old man in Coachella was charged today with murder and robbery. Fabian Diaz pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to case records. Diaz and the 17-year-old boy also accused in the case are both Coachella