Author: KESQ

Jesus Reyes

Two men were each sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Cathedral City store owner during a botched robbery in 2021.

Charles Lamar Campbell, 23, of Beaumont, and Joel Ortiz Hidalgo, 23, of Desert Hot Springs, were convicted in May for the killing of Chris Sgouromitis, 61, of Cathedral City, at the Outpost Market on Feb. 21, 2021.

Chris Sgouromitis

Campbell is eligible for parole, but Hidalgo is not, according to court records.

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, on the night of Feb. 21, 2021, Campbell and Hidalgo were driving around the Coachella Valley in the latter’s Acura sedan, seeking to purchase a “plug” of marijuana. When a transaction fell through in Palm Springs, the men headed into Cathedral City, where Campbell directed Hidalgo onto Shifting Sands Trail and, ultimately, the Outpost Market at the intersection of Shifting Sands and Ramon Road, according to court papers.

While Hidalgo sat behind the wheel of his car, Campbell entered the convenience store, long owned and operated by Sgouromitis and his family, prosecutors said.

Although no one else was in the outlet, security surveillance video cameras inside were operating, capturing almost all of the ensuing encounter between the victim and defendant, according to the brief.

The gunfire evidently frightened Hidalgo, who sped away from the location as Campbell exited the store, the prosecution said. Campbell was forced to flee on foot through residences lining Shifting Sands, and during his getaway, he accidentally fired his 9mm pistol into a yard, where the homeowner was watching, according to court papers.   

Sgouromitis’ brother, who had been resting in a room at the back of the store when the shots rang out, initiated CPR on his sibling until Cathedral City Police Department officers arrived and took over, followed by paramedics moments later. However, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was a beloved member of the community, and CCPD released a statement within a few days of his murder, saying he was a “father of four with strong local ties, who was not involved in criminal activity and died in his longtime place of business.”

Hidalgo’s Acura was soon identified as the vehicle that had parked outside the convenience store, and the license plate was confirmed via Flock law enforcement camera recordings in Palm Springs, leading to his being tracked down and detained for questioning less than a week later.

The defendant provided details regarding what allegedly had transpired, insisting that he was only giving Campbell a ride to get some marijuana and had no foreknowledge of the planned robbery, according to the brief. He was formally arrested at the police station.

Campbell was located staying in a Beaumont motel, where detectives went to serve an arrest warrant, listening through the door as he conversed via speaker phone with his mother, allegedly telling her, “The driver was arrested, and all he has to do is give me up,” according to the prosecution.   

Officers ordered him out of the room, at which point the defendant was taken into custody without incident.   

Neither man has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Cynthia White

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CNS) – A mix of losses and gains weighed on the regional economy last month, pushing Riverside County’s unemployment rate up more than a percentage point, according to figures released on Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

The countywide jobless rate in June, based on preliminary EDD estimates, was 6%, compared to 4.9% in May.

According to figures, the June rate was half a percentage point higher than the year-ago level, when countywide unemployment then stood at 5.5%.

The combined unemployment rate for Riverside and San Bernardino counties — the Inland Empire — was 5.9%, up from 4.8% in May, the EDD said.

Data showed Cherry Valley had the highest unemployment rate countywide in June at 12.4%, followed by Rancho Mirage at 9.6%, Coachella at 9.2%, Valle Vista at 8.7% and Blythe at 7.9%.

Bi-county data indicated that payrolls declined by the widest margin last month in the professional business services sector, which shed 2,400 positions.

Further losses were recorded in the trade, transportation and utilities, as well as the health services, sectors, reflecting an aggregate drop of 1,500 jobs.

The construction sector had the greatest gains in June, adding an estimated 1,700 positions, while additional increases were documented in the agricultural, hospitality, manufacturing and public sectors, which altogether swelled by 2,700 jobs, according to figures. Miscellaneous unclassified industries, along with the financial and information technology sectors, were unchanged.

The statewide non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in June was 5.7%.

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Athena Jreij

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — Calls for change erupted outside the Indio Customs and Border Protection office Friday as protesters denounced what they call discriminatory immigration policies.

“ICE and Border Patrol are kidnaping innocent community members in broad daylight, in fields, and in the streets and even in churches,” Balthazar Aguirre Jr. with the United Farmworker Foundation said.

It comes as President Trump’s mass deportation plans unfold in the Coachella Valley, with several operations touching down in Cathedral City, Thermal and Mecca.

While the administration has said officers are only going after criminals, protesters disagree.

“Don’t forget that when all of this started or before it started, they said that violent criminals were going to be taken off of our streets, MS-13 gang members. There are no MS-13 gang members out there farming our strawberries right now,” Christine Massey, a local participant, said.

According to recent data, since May, just 30% of those arrested have criminal convictions while 44% have no criminal history at all.

Some local operations like weed farm raid in the East Valley have targeted criminal enterprises, but for many, it feels like an attack on their community and anyone who looks like them.

“I’m a Mexican, I’m Hawaiian, and I’m all the brown stuff. I’m gay. I’m everything that they hate and so I have to be that voice,” William Acasil said.

As fear runs deep in local communities, UFW and ICUC have launched a new toll-free hotline providing bilingual legal services. However, even they admit their resources have limits.

“Each case is different. There was a Palm Desert couple who were gardeners and one of them was sent to Sudan, I believe, and, the wife was sent somewhere else. In those cases, I mean, it’s difficult to try to help them in that case,” Aguirre said.

For those in custody now, protesters hope they’ll hear their message of solidarity.

“We see you. We stand with you, and we won’t give up until these policies change,” said Massey.

For more information on the UFW’s toll-free hotline, head to https://kesq.com/news/2025/07/17/toll-free-hotline-launches-in-coachella-valley-to-support-migrant-communities/.

The number to reach the hotline is 1-888-295-4282 with hours set to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Timothy Foster

MORONGO, Calif. – The Morongo Band of Mission Indians marked a major milestone in regional public safety today with the grand opening of its new Fire Station #1. The modern, 15,000-square-foot facility will enhance emergency response capabilities on the Morongo Reservation and throughout the San Gorgonio Pass.

Replacing the previous station that served the community since 1998, the new facility is located at the intersection of Morongo and Santiago Roads. It is equipped with advanced response technologies, dual apparatus bays, expanded living quarters, and an early earthquake detection system. The station features reinforced construction and backup power systems to remain operational during disasters such as wildfires and floods.

Designed to accommodate up to 12 personnel per shift, the station now serves as the operational base for the Morongo Fire Department, a full-service agency with nearly 50 professional firefighters, EMTs, and ambulance personnel. The department responds to more than 1,500 calls annually, with nearly half occurring outside reservation boundaries.

The development of the station followed years of planning and research, and includes solar installations, diesel exhaust filtration systems to protect firefighter health, and state-of-the-art alerting systems. The facility is also designed with room for future expansion, ensuring it can evolve to meet growing regional needs.

The Morongo Fire Department began in the 1950s as a volunteer crew known as the Flying Eagles and has since grown into a vital regional emergency response organization. Its personnel play a critical role in supporting Riverside County and the broader region during emergencies and natural disasters.

The grand opening of Fire Station #1 follows the Tribe’s launch of a tribal medical helicopter and ground ambulance service in 2023, in partnership with Global Medical Response, American Medical Response, and REACH Air Medical Services. That program was the first of its kind between a federally recognized tribe and a national EMS provider.

The completion of this next-generation fire station represents a continued commitment by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians to public safety, emergency preparedness, and community service across the region.

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Garrett Hottle

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) Three lawsuits have been brought against Cathedral City and Fire Chief Michael Contreras, with more expected, an attorney involved with the cases tells News Channel 3.

The lawsuits, which were filed by Beaman Jacinto Law P.C., involve present and former workers of the Cathedral City Fire Department. Megan J. Beaman, an attorney with Beaman Jacinto Law, says they’re currently representing five clients total, and they hope to file at least two additional complaints.

“So we have two cases filed where they’ve been returned to us from the court,” Megan J. Beaman an attorney with Beaman Jacinto Law P.C. said. “The third one, we’re still waiting for a case number and for the final stamped documents. But it’s been filed, And then there are two others that we haven’t filed yet.

Megan J. Beaman, an attorney with Beaman Jacinto Law, says they’re currently representing five clients total.

They involve accusations of illegal, retaliatory, and abusive actions on the part of Chief Contreras.

“So with respect to our clients in their employment with the Cathedral City Fire Department, we see as a big picture a common thread of really abusive and retaliatory unlawful conduct by the fire chief, Michael Contreras, as well as the deputy that he appointed, who kind of toes the line for him, which is Steven Tuma,” Beaman Jacinto said. “So the both of them have also been individually, named as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as the city of Cathedral City for their fire department.”

Two of the plaintiffs are employed by the department and have been employed for close to 30 years, as detailed by Beaman-Jacinto. She explained that they are high-ranking officials who had never brought complaints along these lines.

“They’re basically a top management underneath the fire chief. And they had spent two of the three had spent, nearly three decades there, still working at the, at the fire department. But they’ve been with the city for nearly three decades, each person, and they’ve never had to bring a case of this nature. They’ve never been, you know, complaining employees, so to speak.”

All of the claims follow two internal investigations conducted by the city into the fire department. The most recent concluded in June.

A Cathedral City representative acknowledged that the administrative probe is finished but would not elaborate, as there is pending litigation.

News Channel 3 contacted Chief Contreras for comment and is waiting for his response.

This is a developing story.

Stay with News Channel 3 for updates.

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Haley Meberg

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)– An 8,900-foot sewer pipeline installation will begin later this month causing lane closures in the Palm Springs Area. 

City officials said this instillation is a part of the Indian Canyon Drive Widening Project, a multistage road improvement project that is set to give the roadway a major upgrade. The work will take place along North Palm Canyon Drive, from south Palm Springs Station Road to west Tramview Road, starting the week of July 27.

Initial surveying and utility location for the project is said to require closure of the No. 1 northbound lane from Tramview Road and Sunrise Park. City officials say the installation will involve “tunneling beneath concrete pavement in certain areas and open trench methods for the majority of the pipeline.”

The installation for the Indian Canyon Widening project will affect both northbound and southbound lanes with work expected to last through May 2026. 

To learn more information about this project visit indiancanyonproject.com. 

Stay with News Channel 3 for more information.

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Haley Meberg

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ)– A 21-year-old man is facing multiple charges after Indio Police pulled him over for a traffic stop and found fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and a 12-gauge shotgun in his vehicle.

Police stopped the man on July 10th around 1:15 a.m. in the 46000 block of Rubidoux Street for an equipment violation, and discovered he had been driving without a valid license with an active misdemeanor warrant out for his arrest.

Following that discovery, the driver consented to a vehicle search which led to the discovery of a loaded 12-gauge gun placed in a bag on the lap of the 38-year-old female front passenger. 

According to police, a further search of the vehicle revealed 24 grams of methamphetamine, 4.5 grams of fentanyl, 17 baggies each containing 0.1 grams of fentanyl, 2.4 grams of cocaine, and multiple scales and packaging materials consistent with narcotic sales. 

The driver was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio, charged with multiple weapons and narcotic violations. The female passenger was arrested on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia. She was later cited and released at the Indio Police Station.

For more updates stay with News Channel 3.

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City News Service

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – With a Los Angeles federal judge rejecting a request by government attorneys to pause her ruling barring immigration agents from detaining people without reasonable suspicion beyond their race, ethnicity or occupation, government attorneys have again asked an appeals court to issue a stay of the order, according to court papers obtained today.   

Government lawyers contend the judge’s order halting so-called “roving patrols” of federal immigration agents in the Los Angeles area is a “straight-jacket” that prevents President Donald Trump “from ensuring that immigration laws are enforced.”  

On Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong denied the government’s request for a stay of the ruling, writing that the government hadn’t shown that it will suffer any harm from the restraining orders she issued last week and because “the federal government did not follow the rules for making this request.”  

The judge also denied a request from Southland cities for an expedited hearing on their request to formally participate in the case. A hearing is currently set next month to discuss the proposed intervenors’ request.   

Immediately following the judge’s written ruling Thursday evening, the government filed an appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a second time, asking that the court overturn Frimpong’s order and allow immigration patrols to resume.

The first time the government appealed to the 9th Circuit requesting a stay pending appeal of Frimpong’s temporary restraining order, the judge had not yet ruled on the matter, so the appellate panel on Wednesday denied the motion.

After the federal appeal was lodged with the 9th Circuit, the American Civil Liberties Union immediately filed a response, arguing that a stay would be “inappropriate,” and asking that if the court grants the government’s request, an expedited briefing schedule be put into place.   

Frimpong previously set a briefing schedule for the ACLU and other individuals and organizations that brought the lawsuit July 2 to file their arguments on whether the court should issue a preliminary injunction order, which would last far longer than the temporary restraining orders the court issued last week.   

The judge set a hearing for Sept. 24 in downtown Los Angeles.   

In a statement provided to City News Service, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the administration’s position remains unchanged.

“The facts of this case haven’t changed,” she said. “An unelected district judge is undermining the will of the American people. America’s brave men and women of law enforcement are removing murderers, gang members, terrorists, pedophiles, rapists — truly the worst of the worst from Golden State communities.”  

In their emergency motion lodged with the appellate court for a stay pending appeal, government attorneys argued the TRO places “coercive restraints on lawful immigration enforcement affecting every immigration stop and detention.”

The ruling levels “systemic challenges to federal immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area,” according to the appeal.   

Frimpong’s ruling came in response to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court by Public Counsel, the ACLU and attorneys representing Southern California residents, workers and advocacy groups who allege residents were unlawfully stopped or detained by federal agents targeting locations where immigrant workers are traditionally hired.   

It accused immigration officials of carrying out “roving patrols” and detaining people without warrants and regardless of whether authorities have actual proof that individuals are in the country legally.

It further alleged federal agencies, including DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, engaged in unconstitutional and unlawful immigration enforcement raids by targeting Angelenos based on their perceived race and ethnicity and denying detainees constitutionally mandated due process.

White House border czar Tom Homan also criticized the order.   

“Look, we’re going to litigate that order, because I think the order’s wrong. I mean, she’s (Frimpong) assuming that the officers don’t have reasonable suspicion. They don’t need probable cause to briefly detain and question somebody. They just need reasonable suspicion. And that’s based on many articulable facts,” Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.

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Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The California Indian Nations College in Palm Desert is receiving help to become California’s only federally accredited tribal college.

Friday morning, Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) presented a $10 million state general fund check to CINC. The check presentation will help it become the state’s only federally accredited tribal college.

Becoming federally accredited is crucial for the college to access funding opportunities and it recognizes the college’s programs. A federally accredited tribal college, like the two-year CINC, is controlled and operated by a federally recognized American Indian tribe and offers programs incorporating indigenous culture.

California has the greatest numbers of Native Americans in the United States, but has not had an institution accredited, compared to the more than 30 accredited tribal colleges with 75 campuses throughout 13 states.

CINC was granted candidacy/pre-accreditation status in January by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Officials with CINC said this accreditation is particularly important because the “high school graduation rate for American Indians is 11.4% lower than the overall rate, and the college going rate is 14.4% lower than the overall.”

According to Friday’s event organizers, CINC does not receive ongoing federal or state support. The tribal college has received one-time state funding for $5 million in 2022 to help reach accreditation, and $9 million in seed money from the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from officials on the check presentation and its importance for reaching accreditation status.

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Jesus Reyes

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated that Replogle was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. This was incorrect. The judge sentenced Replogle to life without the possibility of parole. The article has been updated with the correct information.

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A former attorney convicted twice for his role in the murder of a Palm Springs art dealer was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

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.

News Channel 3’s Garrett Hottle will have more on the sentencing tonight at 4, 5, 6 p.m.

News Channel 3 Exclusive: American Hustlers – The Lambert Story

Clifford Lambert

Replogle, once a prominent Bay Area attorney, forged Lambert’s name on official documents, allowing the men to drain bank accounts and take assets.

Replogle’s sentencing hearing was rescheduled multiple times over the three years since his second conviction.

The case, originally involving six co-conspirators who murdered Lambert for financial gain, has dragged on for 15 years. They were originally convicted a few years after the murder, but were granted new trials because of the behavior of the judge in the original trial.

Replogle was first convicted in 2011, resulting in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The other suspects have been convicted or made plea deals. Kaushal Niroula was killed at the Cois Byrd Detention Center on Sept. 6, 2022.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any new developments.

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