Author: KESQ

Shay Lawson

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – A loose horse that drew multiple emergency calls late Sunday night was safely returned to its owner after an unexpected adventure through the desert.

Matthew Perez, Animal Control Officer, said initial calls described a horse loose on the side of the road off of Dillion Road and Johnson Road.

He said it’s a situation that can be dangerous for both animals and drivers.

“We were worried about it getting hit by a car. We get those a lot,” Perez said.

Before officers arrived, Perez said a good samaritan who works at a horse ranch located the animal inside a trailer park and used his own equipment to secure and contain the horse until help could arrive.

“I was able to come straight to our shelter, pick up our horse trailer and head right out there,” Perez said.

Perez said the horse ran into a slow-moving vehicle that was attempting to assist in keeping it off the roadway, breaking the car’s side mirror but not harming the horse.

He said loading the horse into a trailer presented another challenge.

“He is young. He’s 4,” Perez said. “A lot of times when they’re that young and they’re not trailer trained they do get intimated.”

Perez praised the cooperation between the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol.

“The sheriff’s department was there. They helped get the horse,” Perez said. “CHP helped on the vehicle side of the accident and made sure everyone was safe.”

Perez said the horse escaped because a gate didn’t latch properly. He gave a message to horse owners.

“Make sure all your latches are fixed and are latched properly,” Perez said. “We do recommend a 2 latch system or a 2 gate system. If the first one fails, the second one would also keep it down. But we also ask you to microchip your horses.”

He said the horse was identified through a microchip and reunited with his owner the next day.

“It felt amazing,” Perez said. “The owner was really happy that we had it.”

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Peter Daut

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Some big changes are in store for College of the Desert. The college is expanding programs and services for its more than 14,000 students across multiple campuses from Mecca to Palm Springs.

There are new buildings going up in Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, and Mecca. There is also a new athletic field being built at the main campus in Palm Desert, as well as an upgraded science building.

COD says it’s working to provide access to students across the valley.

“We’re looking to really help the community as far as making sure we have an accessible workforce, but that for our workforce education is affordable,” said COD president Val Martinez-Garcia.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke in depth with COD Superintendent / President Val Martinez-Garcia

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Jesus Reyes

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man was convicted of killing his wife and another man during a domestic violence dispute outside a Palm Desert hotel in 2022.

A jury found Kenny Wu, 37, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, court records show.

Deputies from the sheriff’s Palm Desert station responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the parking lot of the SpringHill Suites hotel in the 72300 block of Highway 111 on the morning of July 15, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Ben Ramirez said.

In the parking lot, deputies found a man and a woman, who were pronounced dead at the scene within minutes of the deputies’ arrival, Ramirez said. Wu was found alive with blunt force trauma to his body and taken to a hospital.  

The dead woman was identified as Yaying Wu, 31, also of Palm Desert, the suspect’s wife. Police said the male victim was Jesus Sanchez, 30, of Cathedral City.

“Evidence presented at trial showed that Wu committed the killings after his wife firmly declared she wanted a divorce. The prosecution detailed evidence of stalking, domestic violence, infidelity, and ongoing marital issues leading up to the fatal confrontation,” reads a social media post by the DA’s office. 

Defense attorney John Dolan described his client as mentally overwrought by his spouse’s rejection of him.   

“This case is about Kenny’s state of mind,” Dolan told jurors at the outset of the trial. “It’s an awful and ugly situation.”  

He recounted how his client had been distressed to the point of a psychological collapse over YaYa’s ongoing relationship with Sanchez in 2022.   

The affair was uncovered in the winter of that year, and Wu initially tried to forgive his spouse’s behavior but it left him scarred and emotionally damaged, in need of professional help, Dolan said.

The defendant futilely hoped that his wife would abandon her connection to Sanchez and remain in the defendant’s life. Wu had long conversations with relatives, seeking to resolve the conflict. Dolan said YaYa’s own father tried to help, speaking with the defendant for more than two hours via telephone, listening to him plead for her fidelity.   

Testimony from Wu’s preliminary hearing in October 2022 indicated that he had physically assaulted the woman on more than one occasion, stemming from her communications with Sanchez.  

YaYa’s mother, Xue Jia, believed her daughter was in danger, having heard Wu express a desire “to kill them,” a sheriff’s deputy testified.

When Wu discovered the victim intended to meet Sanchez at the Spring Hill Suites on Highway 111 in Palm Desert on the morning of July 15, 2022, he went there, waiting for the victims and then confronting them in the parking lot, according to investigators.

“The rage just exploded,” Dolan said.  

Prosecutors said Wu pulled a knife and stabbed his wife and Sanchez multiple times, killing them. The defendant did not attempt to flee afterward, instead inflicting superficial wounds to himself, apparently to make it appear there had been a struggle. He was arrested without incident.

“We are here for his choices, his decisions,” Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao told the jury.  

Wu had no documented prior felony convictions.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.

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Gavin Nguyen

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday evening at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert.

Attendees gathered in the front steps of St. Margaret’s in “remembrance of those recently killed by ICE in Minnesota and in solidarity with immigrants, refugees, and all who live in fear. We gather to pray for the dead, comfort the grieving, and stand for justice, dignity, and compassion.”

Father Andrew Butler, the rector at St. Margaret’s, said this isn’t a political issue but a moral one, and he says a key point in his faith is to respect the dignity of all human beings and said he felt a need to provide this space for people to pray. 

“There are protests going on all over the country and I felt like if some people protest, some people pray, so you can do both, but I felt like there was a need for the community to come together to pray for what’s happening, just the violence, the rampant violence,” Butler said.

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Jesus Reyes

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A convicted felon accused of trying to sexually assault a woman at a Whitewater canine training facility pleaded guilty today to attempted rape.

Bryan Vines Burge, 55, admitted the felony count Tuesday under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors agreed to drop two related charges and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon during a sexual offense.

The crime happened on Aug. 16, 2025. According to sheriff’s investigators, shortly before 7 a.m., the defendant forcibly entered the Guide Dogs of the Desert compound at 60735 Dillon Road, where canines are specially trained to serve as companion and guardian pets for the blind.

Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 19 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. A potential sentence was not published.

Burge remains held without bail at the nearby Benoit Detention Center.

According to investigators with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, shortly before 7 a.m. last Aug. 16, the defendant forcibly entered the Guide Dogs of the Desert compound at 60735 Dillon Road, where canines are specially trained to serve as companion and guardian pets for the blind.

Sheriff’s officials said Burge encountered a woman and pulled a knife on her, proceeding with an attempted sexual assault.

The victim struggled and suffered unspecified injuries during the attack but was able to break free of the defendant’s grasp and flee to call for help, according to investigators.   

Patrol deputies converged on the location a short time later and initiated a search based on the woman’s statements. They located and arrested Burge without incident on Dillon Road three hours later.

The victim did not require hospitalization. It was unclear whether the defendant specifically burglarized the training facility to target the woman.   

Court documents indicated he had prior convictions out of Orange County for burglary and lewd acts on a minor.

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City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man was cleared of all charges in the 2019 shooting death of a Halloween partygoer in La Quinta after an Indio jury acquitted him, court records confirmed today.  

After deliberating less than five hours Monday, jurors weighing the fate of Jorge Andres Huerta Arias, 24, of Whitewater returned with not guilty verdicts on murder and the lesser and included offense of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Anthony Carrillo of La Quinta.

The trial concluded Monday after roughly two weeks of testimony at the Larson Justice Center. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling closed the case following jurors’ verdicts. However, Arias was not immediately released from the Benoit Detention Center, where he remained held without bail Tuesday pending resolution of an unrelated felony case, for which a hearing is scheduled Feb. 13.  

Carrillo was fatally shot on Oct. 26, 2019.   

At the outset of the trial, defense attorney Shaun Sullivan contended the “case is about survival,” not murder.   

Sullivan told jurors Arias went to the party with his cousin and her boyfriend to have a good time — not to promote his “clique,” as the prosecution argued.

The attorney said Carrillo was a member of his own clique and he and Arias had been at odds previously. Sullivan described Carrillo as a bully, who joined his associates in trying to intimidate the defendant while they attended high school together.   

According to the defense, during the Halloween party, his client clearly heard someone shouting, “Smoke this fool; get the gun!” and Arias was instantly in fear of his life.   

“He fires back out of survival, out of fear,” Sullivan told the jury.   

He acknowledged Arias fled the scene, but said it was for self preservation, which he also said explained the young man’s choice of hospitals. He said Arias worried that if he tried to go to a medical facility in the Coachella Valley, Carrillo’s associates might seek him out to finish what they started at the party.  

Deputy District Attorney Steve Sorensen told jurors that Arias went to the house party at 53965 Avenida Madero armed with a handgun and intent on causing trouble.

Sorensen outlined how the defendant was active in his gang and wore a black hat with the brand clearly visible to reinforce his standing as a member. While others were dancing to loud music shortly after midnight, Arias turned confrontational, focusing his attention on individuals he perceived as adversaries, the prosecutor alleged.

“Instead of using his hands, the defendant pulls out a gun,” Sorenson said, adding that Arias unleashed a “volume of shots” that caused people to dive for cover or run.

Carrillo was in the line of fire and mortally wounded. Someone — it was unclear who — returned fire and shot Arias in the buttocks, possibly as he fled from the property, according to the prosecution.

Sheriff’s deputies converged on the residence minutes later and discovered the victim in critical condition. He was taken to a Coachella Valley hospital, where he died that morning.

The defendant went to a friend’s residence in Cathedral City, where he elicited help. He was taken to San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning for treatment of his non-life-threatening posterior wound.

Hospital staff notified law enforcement of the patient’s arrival, and Cathedral City police officers went to question him because he claimed to have been the victim of a drive-by attack in that city.

Sorensen said a search of the area where the supposed drive-by occurred turned up no evidence to support the claim.   

Though he was ultimately connected with the shooting at the La Quinta property, Arias was not immediately arrested. Sheriff’s detectives spent the ensuing years tying together loose ends and gathering sufficient evidence to finally seek felony charges against him in 2025, culminating in his arrest last June.

Arias has no documented prior felony convictions in county adult court.

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City News Service

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Festival Theaters in Palm Springs will screen a series of films featuring Udo Kier, the late Palm Springs resident and German actor, starting Thursday.

Check Out: Festival Theaters Enters New Era Focusing on Independent, International Films and LGBTQ+ Films

The film series, “Remembering Udo Kier: Palm Springs’ Valentine,” will be held though March 5 at 789 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way.   

Kier died on Nov. 23, 2025 in Palm Springs at the age of 81. He appeared in more than 200 roles in films such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Johnny Mnemonic,” “End of Violence” and “Flesh for Frankenstein.”  

“From cult horror to new queer cinema to arthouse prestige, the slate offers audiences a chance to revisit Kier’s work while highlighting his deep personal connection to Palm Springs, a city he embraced,” officials said.  

The tribute kicks off Thursday with “Blood for Dracula,” a 1974 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey. It will screen at 7 p.m. Thursday, at noon Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. Feb. 8-11, and at noon Feb. 12.

Director Gus Van Sant’s 1991 drama “My Own Private Idaho” will screen Feb. 13-19 at 8 p.m. each night.

Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier’s 2011 science fiction fable “Melancholia” screens Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb 21-26 at 7 p.m.

Finally, the 2021 comedic drama “Swan Song,” which stars Kier as a flamboyant retired hairdresser who embarks on an odyssey to confront the ghosts of his past, will screen at 7 p.m. Feb. 27-March 5.  

Tickets can be found at festivaltheaters.com/home/.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County today recorded its largest increase since Nov. 5, rising 3.6 cents to $4.262, its 12th increase in 13 days.

The average price has increased 13.9 cents over the past 13 days, including two-tenths of a cent Monday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It rose six consecutive days, dropped one-tenth of a cent Wednesday and resumed rising Thursday.

Check Out Our Gas Gauge Section For Lowest Prices in the Coachella Valley

The average price is 12 cents more than one week ago and 11.3 cents higher than one month ago, but 12.9 cents less than one year ago. It has dropped $2.111 since rising to a record $6.373 on Oct. 5, 2022.

The average price rose 4 cents on Nov. 5.   

The national average price rose eight-tenths of a cent to $2.883, one day after a half-cent increase. It is a half-cent less than one week ago, 6.3 cents more than one month ago and 21.5 cents lower than one year ago.   

The national average price has dropped $2.133 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.

“While oil prices jumped to their highest level in months amid geopolitical tensions, a weakening U.S. dollar, and supply concerns, the national average price of gasoline saw little change compared to a week ago,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real- time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations, said in a statement released Monday.  

“Just over half of states saw gas prices decline, led by Indiana, Ohio, and other price-cycling states that had previously seen prices jump but have since started to fall. Meanwhile, prices are rising across much of the West Coast as the transition to summer gasoline begins, and attention turns to another refinery shutdown in California expected in April.   

“Over the coming weeks, we’re likely to see more states experiencing increases than decreases.”

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Luis Avila

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) — Varner Road has been identified as one of California’s five most dangerous roadways, according to a new state study.

State, county and local leaders gathered Tuesday at SunLine Transit Agency headquarters to review the study’s findings and outline next steps to improve safety along the corridor.

The Varner Road safety corridor spans 2.3 miles from slightly north of Bob Hope Drive to just south of Monterey Avenue in the Coachella Valley, according to CalTrans.

The stretch of roadway has experienced 17 fatal/serious injury (FSI) crashes between 2019 and 2023, resulting in four fatalities and 25 serious injuries.

As a result of the findings, Varner Road has been designated a “Priority Safety Corridor,” a status that allows agencies to fast-track safety improvements aimed at reducing crashes and serious injuries, including improvements to stripes, guardrails, mediums and visibility.

Plans for these improvements could be ready as soon as this upcoming June.

Corridors were identified in partnership with UC Berkeley SafeTREC using a High Injury Network method applied to five years of crash data (2019–2023, with 2023 provisional). Sites rose to the top based on analysis of safety data, varied contexts and partner readiness.

Success will be tracked through reductions in fatal and serious-injury crashes. Leading indicators — such as vehicle speeds, conflict points and telematics data (including braking and acceleration patterns) — will help detect risk early and guide proactive adjustments. 

This comes as CVAG, which was also present, is already working to improve a 22-mile section of Varner Road, known as CV Sync.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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Daniella Lake

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – For Black History Month, News Channel 3 will be spotlighting Black trailblazers and pioneers who’ve had a significant impact on the Coachella Valley. James O. Jessie was the director for parks and recreation in Palm Springs, and the manager for the Desert Highland Unity Center for decades. He was known to community members as “Uncle James.”

“He was a role model. He was a father figure. He was someone that made sure that you did better in life,” says Jarvis Crawford, the current manager for the James O.Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center. Crawford also serves as president for the Palm Springs Black History Committee.

He was well-known for empowering youth by encouraging them to participate in sports and enjoy the outdoors. He founded the Desert Highland drill team and drum squad, and often took youth on field trips.

“He showed us that there was life outside Palm Springs,” says Monica Turner, his daughter.

In 2000, he took the kids on an annual fishing trip. On the trip, one boy started drowning. After jumping in the water to save the young boy, the current took James O. Jessie, ultimately leading to his death.

“For everybody out here, he was Uncle James. So everybody lost an uncle that day,” says Turner.

Turner and Hall say his legacy continues on in the lives he touched and that he instilled many life lessons in the youth he worked with.

“To be proud of themselves, to be proud of their heritage,” Turner says.

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