Author: KYMA

Jalen Fong

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The couple charged with murdering a two-year-old toddler were formally charged in court and pleaded not guilty to the murder.

20-year-old Angelina Vasquez and 23-year-old Miguel Garcia pled not guilty before Judge Roger Nelson on Monday.

Both are being charged with three felony counts, which are first-degree murder, child abuse per domestic violence and abandonment or concealment of dead body parts.

They were arrested back on May 30 after Yuma police discovered possible human remains of a toddler in a home near 25th Street and Avenue 9E, just south of Arizona Western College.

Vasquez and Garcia remain in custody on a $2 million cash-only bond.

They will be back in court on July 16 for a case management conference.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – On Tuesday’s HomeGrown report, we highlighted Sudan grass, one of the popular summer Yuma agricultural products.

While the city is famous for its winter produce, the soil doesn’t rest during the summer months. 

Lettuce in the fields is now replaced with ten-foot-tall fields of sudan grass.

The grass is grown for hay to feed livestock and planting seed production.

“The hay is often grown for the Asian export market where it mimics the fine stemmed rice hay, which is in short supply in Asia, when growing for the export market planting density is critical to produce the desired size and texture,” says Robert Masson, assistant agricultural agent at the local U of A Cooperative Extension.

The grass is typically planted and grown from mid-March to August.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma Police Department (YPD) gave their 2024 annual report at Tuesday’s Yuma City Council work session.

According to the report, there was an 80% decrease in homicides in 2024, with only two occurring. However, YPD Chief Thomas Garrity says these are hard to control.

“What we’re trying to do is we try and reduce domestic homicides and that’s through education, through productivity, making sure that we arrest people who commit domestic violence,” he says.

Chief Garrity says this also means encouraging victims to speak out and bring the abuse to light.

Meanwhile, Yuma Mayor Doug Nichols says this report helps understand where the city is at in terms of crime.

“Knowing what’s happening with the police department, what they’re struggling with, where they’re succeeding, all that really helps us as we prepare budgets, prepare guidance, look at the growth of our community,” said Mayor Nichols.

Sexual assault saw the biggest increase in percentage at 5.71%.

“I would like to think that that is actually through education and reporting, that people are reporting, they’re not keeping quiet about it anymore and through our partnership with Amberly’s Place, our child and family crimes detectives, they do a very good job of sitting there and trying to get the message out of don’t be silent, report,” Garrity says.

The chief says he is proud of the work his officers have done and hopes to continue to improve the department.

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Karina Bazarte

CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – Two suspects pled not guilty after they were arrested in connection to a robbery and kidnapping in Calipatria.

The District Attorney’s Office says two of the three suspects had their first court appearance last week.

They were arraigned which means they were advised of their charges and they had the option of entering a plea…both of them entered a plea of not guilty at that time,” said District Attorney George Marquez.

The kidnapping and robbery happened last Tuesday, which led to the arrest of 22-year old Daniel Lizarraga and 21-year old Sebastian Torres.

Calipatria Mayor Michael Luellen, who’s also in charge of P.I.O. services, says they worked with border patrol to catch the suspects.

“Calipat knows if you’re heading North you have to hit the border checkpoint and these individuals were driving their car through border patrol caught the information noticed similarities and arrested them,” said Mayor Luellen.

The D.A.’s Office says one suspect is from Los Angeles and two are from Riverside County.

Two of the suspects will be back in court next week.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Student access to mental health resources will continue to be available throughout the summer!

Yuma Elementary School District One is partnering with Cartwheel, a trusted mental health partner for K-12 schools, to support the mental health of students and families through virtual telehealth. Resources include 1:1 therapy, medication evaluation and management, and parent guidance and family therapy.

“We are a rural community, and we don’t have quite the resources that you would have in a larger area, so the Arizona Department of Education has put us in touch with this grant where we can access these services for therapy for our students,” said Carol Bickford, counselor at Dorothy Hall Elementary School.

The district says supporting the mental health and well being of students helps set them up for success to reach their full potential in school and in life.

“We know that our kids sometimes have experienced things in life that kind of stand in their way of success, so we want to be able to partner and connect them with services that can help remove those barriers so that then they’re able to engage in their learning and be successful in school,” said Leeanne Lagunas, Associate Superintendent of Academic Support Services for District One.

Bickford shares about the referral process and quick turnaround.

“Student can be referred by really anyone at the school, primarily the counselor or the administrator, and then this referral will come through to be approved and then sent off to Cartwheel. And at that point, their response is with usually within 24 hours. They are reaching out to the parent to clarify some things and then also, set up an intake session, and then from there, it goes pretty fast,” Bickford explained.

“So parents have been very pleased. You know they reached back out to the parent within days and then they can get them set up with, with services probably in weeks instead of months,” said Lagunas.

Cartwheel services will continue to be available to families throughout the summer. If you’re interested in signing up, you can find the interest form HERE.

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Abraham Retana

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A new agreement is working on bringing better healthcare to the Imperial Valley.

The Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD) made a five-year agreement with the University of California San Diego Health to develop programs for Pioneers Memorial Hospital and El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECMRC).

“Which focuses in the strategic planning portion of what we are doing, how we are going to deliver that care in the community, increase services and all the things we talked about that UCSD brings to the table, they are going to help us with that process,” said Chris Bjornberg, CEO of IVHD.

ECRMC CEO Pablo Velez says it’ll help improve the services they provide.

“This is going to help us build the infrastructure to provide better services for our community. So our patients don’t have to leave the Imperial Valley and get the necessary care they need here,” Velez shared.

The agreement will bring three key benefits to the Imperial Valley: Increase specialized healthcare, improve healthcare access and enhance operational stability.

“We can increase our quality, they have the blueprint ready for that and we can take advantage of that relationship with them to try to take those things integrate them here in the Imperial Valley and increase quality here for the Imperial Valley residents,” Bjornberg explained.

The collaboration begins on July 1 and it will end in July of 2030.

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Andrea Turisk

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A Yuma man is fighting to recover after a head-on crash leaves him with serious injuries.

The crash happened hear near Avenue A and West 20th Place. Louie Torres’ family describes him as the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back. Now after the crash it’s put them in a tough spot.

Torres, a proud Marine Corps Veteran was seriously injured in a head-on crash and was then airlifted to a Phoenix hospital. Since then, he’s been on the road to recovery.

Rita Lagunas, a family friend says, “Louie still has a big hall to walk. He is gonna need a lot of physical therapy so that’s gonna be awhile for him. Financially, it’s impacting all of them. His parents,  his mother, and his sisters having to travel back and forth.”

Torres’ sisters are making long trips to Phoenix every week. Taking turns to make sure he’s never alone. One sister drives from Yuma nearly three hours each way. The other makes the journey from Boulder Creek, more than four hours on the road. Together, they travel to be by Torres’ side at least three days a week.

“On their days off, they’re able to come out here. One brings the mother out here with her. You know it’s hard to see him because he was a very active person being out there with his son. Helping his mother outside the home so emotionally that is a lot for them to see him unable to do things for himself.” says Lagunas

The crash has been especially hard for Torres’ son, whose used to having his dad by his side for everyday moments and spontaneous adventures. 

“It’s hard because like I said Louie would pick him up after school. ‘Let’s go get a burger.’ ‘Let’s go here.’ Spontaneously, ‘Let’s got to San Diego.’ ‘Let’s go to the beach.’ You know, things like that so the boy really does miss his dad,” says Lagunas.

If you’d like to support Torres’ family during this difficult time, they’ve set up a go fund me to help with travel expenses and medical bills.

The GoFundMe has a goal of $4,000 with $775 raised so far. If anyone wants to donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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Dillon Fuhrman

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The Imperial County Registrar of Voters is inviting members of the community to share their input on the County’s Election Administration Plan (EAP).

The current draft of the EAP is available for public view online or in-person at the Registrar of Voters’ office, located at 940 W. Main Street, Suite 206, in El Centro.

According to the County, this is to help “ensure the plan is inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the needs of Imperial County’s diverse electorate.”

The County will be holding three consultation meetings at the Board of Supervisors Chambers, located at 940 W. Main Street in El Cento, with three of the following members of the community:

People with disabilities: June 26, 2025 at 5:30 p.m.

Senior citizens: June 30, 2025 at 5:30 p.m.

Spanish-language community: July 2, 2025 at 5:30 p.m.

The meetings will also be held on Zoom. To know each meeting’s Zoom ID and password, read the press release below.

IC_PR_ConsultationMeetings_06.17.25Download

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Exceptional Community Hospital (ECH) in Yuma is hosting a free Teddy Bear Clinic this Saturday for local children and their families.

The purpose of the fun event is to help kids get over their fear of the doctor’s office.

Hospital nurses and doctors will administer vaccinations and perform medical checkups on the teddy bears.

The event is on Saturday at 9 a.m. and all you need to bring is your favorite teddy bear.

“This event, you’re going to see our team in action within our trauma areas, within our fast-track areas, and within our inpatient area. If your child was to come here they would get that same ultimate care and that same ouchless experience,” says Tony Neerpat, a Pharmacist at ECH.

In addition, the hospital will be hosting a free First Aid & CPR Clinic on Sunday at 10 a.m.

To reserve a spot, click here.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Exceptional Community Hospital (ECH) Yuma is hosting a First Aid & CPR Training event this weekend.

The event is taking place Sunday, June 22, at the Yuma Civic Center at 10:00 a.m., and it is to help people learn the following:

Emergency situations

Basic life support

CPR training/drowning

First aid training

Real-life demonstration

Courtesy: Exceptional Community Hospital Yuma

Greater Yuma Water Society and Greater Yuma Aqua Academy are the event’s participating community partners.

To register for the event, click here.

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