Arraignment for a Murrieta man charged with second-degree murder and drunken driving in a fatal Palm Springs crash was postponed Wednesday due to unspecified medical issues.
Michael Torrez, 33, was injured in the March 16 collision and remained hospitalized until this week.
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INDIO (CNS) – A 30-year-old man accused of killing his mother in Palm Springs and driving to South Dakota, where he was arrested following a New Year’s Day police chase that led to the recovery of her body, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge.
Tosten David Walsh-Lommen allegedly strangled 58-year-old Michelle Nanette Walsh, whose body was found wrapped in a blanket in the rear of her son’s SUV following a 50-mile high-speed pursuit, according to authorities.
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INDIO (CNS) – A Desert Hot Springs man accused of barreling through a group of Tour de Palm Springs cyclists at 100 mph, killing one of them, was charged Wednesday with murder, driving under the influence of drugs and driving on a suspended license.
Prosecutors allege that Ronnie Ramon Huerta Jr., 21, was driving under the influence of marijuana at the time of the Feb. 10 crash that killed 54-year-old Mark Kristofferson of Lake Stevens, Washington. A second cyclist, Alyson Lee Akers of Huntington Beach, was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs with major injuries.
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INDIO (CNS) – A fire engulfed an RV in Indio Wednesday, but the two occupants were able to escape the flames unharmed.
The blaze was reported at 7:42 a.m. at the Shadow Hills RV Resort at 40655 Jefferson St.
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PALM SPRINGS (CNS) – Powerful winds were expected to batter the Coachella Valley and Riverside County’s mountain areas Wednesday evening as a trough of low-pressure swings inland from the Pacific and interacts with the high-pressure system that pushed temperatures in the Coachella Valley into the triple digits, meteorologists said.
The gusty winds out of the west will begin to strengthen this evening, with the strongest winds likely late Wednesday evening into early Thursday, the National Weather Service said. The winds will weaken throughout the day Thursday.
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RAMONA (CNS) – A motorist was killed Wednesday afternoon in a solo car crash on a back-country road northeast of Dos Picos County Park.
The 50-year-old man was heading east on Dye Road in the Ramona area when he lost control of his black 1981 Chevrolet El Camino for unknown reasons shortly before 3:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
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RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A Riverside woman accused of fatally bludgeoning her boyfriend in his bed was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.
Teresa Louise Demar, 61, was arrested Saturday by Riverside police and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Prelsey Detention Center in Riverside.
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INDIO (CNS) – A man recently charged with the deaths of a dozen dogs found inside a stolen U-Haul truck in Thousand Palms pleaded not guilty Wednesday to additional animal cruelty charges involving nine cats he allegedly left inside a Palm Springs storage facility unit, one of which died.
Douglas John Yates, 55, is slated to return to court May 9 for a felony settlement conference. He remains free on his own recognizance on the condition that he does not care for or have custody of any animals.
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MURRIETA (CNS) – A Hemet man accused of fatally stabbing his 47-year-old girlfriend on a Winchester street pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and domestic violence charges.
Jeffrey Michael Kruger, 48, is charged in the death of Deborah Warner of Temecula. He could face more than 25 years in state prison if convicted of the felony counts, with sentence-enhancing weapon and great bodily injury allegations.
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MURRIETA (CNS) – A man accused of killing a 47-year-old Lake Elsinore convenience store clerk and trying to shoot another person during a robbery must stand trial on murder and other charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.
James Curtis Coon, 27, of Lake Elsinore is charged in the death of Eric Whitecomb of Wildomar, who was shot about 5:25 a.m. last June 14 in the Circle K store at 16331 Lakeshore Drive, near Clement Street.
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MORENO VALLEY (CNS) – A tractor-trailer collided with two cars on the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway in Moreno Valley Wednesday, spilling most of its load and blocking all but one lane.
The non-injury crash happened about 12:20 p.m. on the eastbound 60 at Frederick Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.
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MURRIETA (CNS) – A man accused of killing a woman and seriously injuring her passenger while driving under the influence of alcohol in French Valley was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and felony DUI.
Elvis Eugene Tate, 59, of Winchester was arrested Sunday after the crash that killed 27-year-old Ashley Alcarez, also of Winchester.