High-profile Coachella Valley crimes and cases in 2018
As 2018 comes to a close, John White took a look back at the high-profile crimes and cases in the Coachella Valley over the year.
On January 1, Tosten Lommen was detained after a 50-mile high-speed chase in South Dakota. According to police, after Lommen was pulled over, the body of his mother, Michelle Nanette Walsh, was found in the trunk of the vehicle. Following extradition, Lommen pleaded not guilty to the murder of his mother in April.
On January 26, Israel Guardado-Ramirez allegedly set fire to his mother, Francisca Ramirez in the loading dock area of the Indio Mathis Brothers. After weeks in the hospital, Ramirez would die from her injuries. Guardado Ramirez pleaded not guilty to murder charges in March.
In March, Ramon Diaz, a beloved father, husband, and martial arts instructor was shot and killed in front of his Cathedral City home.
“We are gonna keep looking,” said Mary Diaz, Ramon’s wife. “For the people that did this to my husband.”
In September, the body of 38-year-old Jason Banks was found in a bathtub at the Musicland Hotel in Palm Springs.
“On September 8, 2018, we lost someone who was dear to all of our hearts. Jason was loved by many. He had an old soul and cared for everyone he held close to his heart. He had a smile that could warm you for days,” read a GoFundMe page raising money for Banks’ funeral expenses.
Later in September, a quiet La Quinta cove was rocked by a shooting; Stacy Rowan was accused of shooting and killing his brother-in-law and wounding his sister. Rowan would lead police on a pursuit to Ontario, California, where he was taken into custody after suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He later died.
In the courts, Robert Pape and Cristin Smith were convicted sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the murders of Becky Friedli, Vicky Friedli, and John Hayward.
In October, Andrew Urdiales was sentenced to death for murdering five women in Southern California, including two in Palm Springs and one in Cathedral City. He was already serving a life sentence for the murder of three women in Chicago. In November, Urdiales was found dead in prison.
