Crime

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The Palm Springs Police Department released data on crime trends from 2024 to 2025, showing a reduction in most major crime categories. According to the department, crimes against persons dropped by nearly nine percent, crimes against property fell by almost twelve percent, and overall crime decreased by eleven percent. Arrests

UPDATE 1/31/2026: PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Springs Police say the suspect was arrested Saturday morning after a community member shared they were spotted near the crime scene. Officers say the suspect was arrested without incident. 1/30/2026: PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Police are searching for an armed suspect in Palm Springs Friday evening.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Jury deliberations got underway Wednesday in the trial of two of three men accused of gunning down a 24-year-old Riverside resident after carjacking him and his girlfriend. Qevon Xavier Harvey, 27, of Desert Hot Springs and Trezell Lamone Heckard, 30, of Vallejo are accused in the 2022 slaying of Benjamin Chanes.

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 56-year-old man was sentenced Monday for stabbing a senior citizen withoutprovocation on the CV Link in Palm Springs. Jacob Ethan Masters was officially sentenced to 8 years after being convicted of cruelty to elder/adult with an enhancement of injuring someone who is 70 years or older, according to court records.

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Desert Hot Springs man accused of repeatedly sexually abusing foster children was charged today with multiple felony offenses.    Sergio Avalos Perez, 64, was arrested Tuesday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation that began in December.    Perez is charged with three counts of lewd acts on a minor

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Two people were arrested a month after a burglary in Palm Desert that included multiple stolen firearms, authorities announced. The suspects, a 32-year-old resident of Banning and a 32-year-old resident of Beaumont, were arrested Tuesday afternoon in the 11000 block of Legends Lane in Beaumont, according to the Riverside County

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A Yucca Valley man was arrested after a road rage incident involving a woman and her two young children over the weekend. The incident happened on Sunday at around 4 p.m. in the 6800 block of Avalon Avenue. Deputies arrived at the scene and found a woman and her two

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A probationer who gunned down an Indio woman without ever giving a clear reason why was sentenced today to 55 years to life in state prison. Johnny Jose Rodriguez, 32, of Indio pleaded guilty on Jan. 5 to second- degree murder, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations,

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man accused of fatally shooting a Halloween partygoer in La Quinta more than six years ago intentionally initiated hostilities, a prosecutor claimed today, while the defendant’s attorney argued his client encountered a life-or-death situation that required him to open fire in self- defense.   Jorge Andres Huerta Arias, 24, of Whitewater

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – A 21-year-old man was sentenced for his role in a Palm Desert shooting. Jorge Arturo Morales of Cathedral City pleaded guilty to attempted murder, assault with a gun, and stalking charges. He was immediately sentenced to 14 years and 8 months in prison. Morales was arrested along with Jaden Xavier

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – A former Coachella Valley Unified School District janitor was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, authorities confirmed Wednesday. The 20-year-old Coachella resident was arrested on Jan. 7. He remains in custody at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of invasion of privacy and possession of child pornography.

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 53-year-old man accused in a stabbing on the CV Link pleaded not guilty to charges on Wednesday. Jacob Ethan Masters was charged with cruelty to elder/adult and assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records. He was arraigned at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Wednesday before Riverside County