Crime

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Coachella woman who engaged in the ongoing abuse of her 5-year-old son, ultimately killing the boy, pleaded guilty today to first-degree murder and other charges.   Vanessa Cervantes Rangel, 41, admitted the murder count, as well as assault on a child resulting in death, torture and four misdemeanor counts of child

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Pretrial motions got underway today ahead of jury selection for the trial of a felon accused in a fatal knife assault on a 24-year-old Cathedral City man. Johnny Ramirez, 34, of Escondido, allegedly joined 33-year-old Edgar Navez of Desert Hot Springs in the deadly attack on Ricardo Gallardo in 2020.   

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A 22-year-old man who fatally shot his lifelong friend during an act of gunplay in Sky Valley was convicted today of second-degree murder.   A Riverside jury deliberated about four days before finding Alexis Yahir Duran of Cathedral City guilty of second-degree murder for the 2023 death of 17-year-old Adam Pineda of

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A parolee who gunned down a man more than a decade ago for crashing into his SUV on an Indio street was convicted today of first-degree murder and other offenses. An Indio jury deliberated less than a day before finding James “Chip” Milton Nathaniel, 39, of Beaumont, guilty of the 2015

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Charges were dismissed today against a 56-year-old man previously accused of providing a fatal dose of methamphetamine to an acquaintance, following a judge’s ruling there was insufficient evidence to bound the defendant over for trial. William Joseph Leonard of Palm Desert was charged last year with involuntary manslaughter and possession of

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Trial proceedings may start before the end of the week for a convicted felon accused of killing a 30-year-old Cabazon man, whose disappearance remained a mystery until his body was located more than two years later. Shannon McCloud Collins, 49, of Cabazon was arrested in 2024 following a Riverside County Sheriff’s

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Individuals convicted of serious sex crimes will no longer automatically qualify for consideration of early release from state prison under California’s “Elderly Parole Program” after they’ve turned 50 years old, following amendments to the program signed into law by the governor this week. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office took the

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A convicted felon who stabbed his girlfriend multiple times in an attack under an Indio bridge will have his prior convictions factored into his sentencing, a judge ruled today before resetting the hearing for December. A Riverside jury in August convicted 44-year-old Jamin Demar Williams of assault with a deadly weapon,