Crime

Two suspected gang members accused of committing multiple robberies during a three-month period in Coachella pleaded not guilty to various charges today and were scheduled to return to court Oct. 5 for a trial-readiness conference. Brian Emmanuel Jamand, 25, and Jorge Alberto Rojas, 29, of Coachella, are accused of multiple robberies in Coachella from August

An 86-year-old man who killed a pedestrian and injured another while driving drunk in Palm Springs has been convicted of murder. Leroy Silva of Palm Springs was also convicted of DUI causing bodily injury, DUI causing bodily injury with a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.08%, two counts of hit-and-run resulting in death or injury

A dump truck driver accused of causing a deadly 1,000-acre blaze in Calimesa by intentionally dropping flaming debris from his rig in the middle of a windstorm made his initial court appearance today. Antonio Ornelas Velazquez, 38, of Desert Hot Springs was charged earlier this year with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count

A 25-year-old man who allegedly took part in a gang-related shooting that left one man dead and two others wounded outside a Cathedral City strip club faces murder charges today. Guillermo Cintora Gomez of Coachella is accused with Christian Miramontes, 27, and Manuel Vargas, 33, in the June 2018 shooting outside the Showgirls Gentlemen’s Club

A Desert Hot Springs man was sentenced today to 56 years to life in state prison for the stabbing death of his landlord. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini handed down the maximum term for Albert Marchain, 29, who was convicted July 7 of killing 69-year-old Stanislaw Tokarski nearly three years ago. An Indio

A police officer requested “lethal cover” before an unlicensed bail agent opened fire and killed a man wielding a knife in Palm Springs, a prosecution witness testified in a preliminary hearing today. Fabian Hector Herrera, 36 years-old, was arrested on April 23 for the shooting death of 33-year-old David Spann. The shooting occurred on the

An adult-education teacher for the Coachella Valley Unified School District was arraigned today on charges of sexually assaulting a child over a four-year period. Luis Alfonso Martinez, 42, was arrested last Thursday in La Quinta and charged with two felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child under 10; two felony counts

SAN BERNARDINO (AP) — One of two police officers shot while trying to arrest a gunman suspected of wounding a Southern California sheriff’s deputy was released from the hospital on Thursday. The San Bernardino SWAT officers killed the gunman during a shootout Wednesday in neighboring Highland east of Los Angeles, authorities said. The wounded officers

A Thermal woman lived in fear of her boyfriend’s son and tried to protect herself by various means, including hiding potentially dangerous weapons and barricading herself in her bedroom, before the ex-con stabbed her dozens of times, a prosecutor alleged today in the defendant’s murder trial. Raul Alcantar Sanchez Jr., now 41, is charged with

A parolee was behind bars today on suspicion of possessing firearms, including a so-called “ghost gun,” while being a convicted felon. The suspect, a 33-year-old man, was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion possessing firearms while being a felon, possessing ammunition while being a felon and possessing suspected methamphetamine. The

Riverside County Animal Services rescued 25 dogs found after the Sheriff’s Department served search warrants at four homes in Palm Desert and Indio Friday morning. Animal control officers impounded 18 dogs, including 11 French bulldogs, five of which were puppies, five chihuahuas, one Shih Tzu and one English bulldog. RCAS added that many of the

A parolee accused of shooting a 14-year-girl in the head while she was riding in a vehicle with four other children in Indio re-entered a not guilty plea today on six counts of attempted murder and was ordered to return to court on Sept. 14 for a trial-readiness conference.     Vicente Manuel Reyes, 25, of

A 61-year-old Yucca Valley man has been arrested after being accused of sexually abusing a child. Richard Harris was arrested on Wednesday and faces charges of oral copulation of a child under ten years old, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced on Thursday. The department reveled that deputies from the Morongo Basin Station were