Crime

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A 49-year-old man pleaded guilty to murder for a high-speed DUI pursuit crash that killed a newlywed woman in Cabazon last year. Jason Ray McQueary of Hemet pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. 

Update 7/14/25 The man injured in the shooting has died from his injuries, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced. He was identified as Gustavo Melendrez-Hernandez, 29, of Coachella. Authorities said the suspect in this shooting, Cecilio Nando-Gonzalez, 28, of Coachella, will face murder charges. Original Report 7/9/25 INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man has been

Update 7/14/25 The man injured in the shooting has died from his injuries, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced. He was identified as Gustavo Melendrez-Hernandez, 29, of Coachella. Authorities said the suspect in this shooting, Cecilio Nando-Gonzalez, 28, of Coachella, will face murder charges. Original Report 7/7/25 COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – One person has been

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) – Three men were arrested after Indio police officers seized illegal fireworks and firearms in the Coachella Valley, police said today. A search warrant was served around 6 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of Second Street, in Coachella, regarding a market allegedly selling illegal fireworks to minors. Authorities recovered “a substantial

Update 07/02/25 6:00 a.m. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies confirmed they were dispatched just before 10 p.m. Monday to Douma Avenue and Avenue 52 after a driver reported their vehicle was hit by gunfire. The driver was not injured. Deputies found evidence of a shooting, but no suspects have been identified. The area has since been

BANNING, Calif. (CNS) – A felon accused of gunning down a 50-year-old man in a drive-by attack on the edge of the Morongo Indian Reservation northeast of Banning was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder and other offenses. Robert Eugene Leonard, 43, of Beaumont, was arrested over the weekend following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – A Yucca Valley High School teacher was arrested Wednesday morning for embezzlement from the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.  The Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Department reports that on June 18, a member of the Parent Teacher Organization called law enforcement to report the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from the PTO account.  The

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A mother and her son were charged in connection with the death of a 24-year-old Indio woman who was found last week near the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission campus. Mario Morales Jr., 25, of Coachella, faces multiple charges, including murder, for the death of his girlfriend, Alexis Cano. He pleaded not

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ)- A Desert Hot Springs man was arrested in connection to the hit and run crash resulting in injuries of a bicyclist Sunday.  At approximately 2:45 p.m., Cathedral City Police Dispatch received multiple emergency calls reporting a vehicle hitting a bicyclist along Date Palm and Perez Road. Police said the 30-year-old victim

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — A 24-year-old woman was found dead in her Indio-area home early Thursday, and authorities say a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department responded to a possible homicide around 7:02 a.m. in the 84000 block of Manila Avenue, in an unincorporated area near Indio.

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – The sentencing was once again rescheduled for a former attorney convicted for his role in the murder of a Palm Springs art dealer. In 2022, David Replogle, 76, was convicted of murder and multiple other charges following a retrial for the 2008 death and disappearance of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert. Clifford Lambert

UPDATE 6/30/25 A suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Orlando Lara. The suspect, a 43-year-old man from Beaumont, was arrested Friday in Banning. The suspect is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. UPDATE 6/27/2025: Sheriff’s investigators identified the man in this case as 50-year-old Banning resident Orlando Lara. The investigation

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A convicted felon accused of killing a 30-year-old Cabazon man whose disappearance remained a mystery until his remains were located more than two years later must stand trial for first-degree murder, a judge ruled today. Shannon McCloud Collins, 48, of Cabazon was arrested last year following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – An ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy who behaved like a “cowboy” during a deadly arrest targeting a man with whom he was at odds over a woman was convicted today of voluntary manslaughter and other offenses. An Indio jury deliberated less than two days before finding Oscar Rodriguez, 44, guilty of the