Category: kesq-local-news

City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A man out on bail in a deadly shooting case was arrested Wednesday in Indio on suspicion of possession of narcotics and numerous firearms, authorities announced.   

Marcos Cruz Gaeta Jr., 45, was booked into Benoit Detention Center in Indio Thursday on suspicion of felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of an assault weapon, possession of a controlled substance for sale and possession of a controlled substance, according to the Indio Police Department.   

He is held on $500,000 bail.   

Authorities conducted a traffic stop Wednesday at Gore Street and Avenue 42 after detectives allegedly saw a driver of a vehicle throw away about one pound of methamphetamine from the vehicle.

Gaeta was taken into custody without incident.   

A served search warrant was executed shortly before 6 p.m. later that day in the 82000 block of Pisa Court, according to Sgt. Abe Plata.   

During the search, authorities seized “just under 20 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately one quarter-pound of heroin, eight pounds of marijuana and a small quantity of Xanax pills. Investigators also located two assault rifles, three handguns, a large amount if ammunition, numerous high-capacity magazines and multiple 3D-printed `switches’ designed to convert Glock-style firearms into fully automatic weapons,” Plata said.

Additionally, a woman, whose identity was not revealed, was found inside the residence and was detained without incident before being released.   

Gaeta is a convicted felon who was out on bail on a previous case, where he is accused of fatally shooting a 30-year-old woman in Indio in 2016. His trial was scheduled for January 23, 2026, according to court records.

Anyone with information about the crimes was asked to call 760-391- 4057, or report tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867.

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Garrett Hottle

Update 6:20 p.m.

Mayor Steven Hernandez made his first known public appearance since his arrest. Hernandez was present at Thursday’s special city council meeting.

Hernandez was not present at the start of the meeting, but briefly appeared after the closed session.

City officials originally told News Channel 3 that Hernandez would not be in attendance.

The city’s livestream of the meeting did not have audio; there is no word on whether a decision on the city manager position.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.

Original

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) Coachella’s City Council is expected to take up the evaluation and appointment of a City Manager during a special closed session meeting Thursday, according to tonight’s agenda posted on the City’s website.

This comes one week after Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez missed the city’s first meeting since his nine-count indictment, with the city confirming he remains on unpaid administrative leave. 

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Daniella Lake

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A structure fire in Banning on Monday left a family with nothing.

“No trash cans, no nothing. We were devastated,” says Urimare Jimenez Libertad. She says her family heard a large “boom” sound, and then next thing they knew, the two story building where her daughter and grandson lived went up in flames.

In addition to the 1,600 sq. ft. two-story building, the fire also damaged multiple cars and a trailer. CAL FIRE says that the cause for the fire is still under investigation, but the family believes their solar batteries started the fire.

They also lost their dog rescue, along with Scott Wasko’s entire plumbing livelihood in the fire. 

“All my tools that I’ve been collecting for 20 years completely burned to the ground. So now I know I have no more ability to be able to go out and make a few dollars,” Wasko says.

The family has started a GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/279799c51 

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Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The film “Hamnet” will receive the Vanguard Award at the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Director Chloé Zhao, as well as actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, are expected to attend the award presentation.

The Film Awards will take place on January 3, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 2-12, 2026. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight.

Check Out Our Film Festival Section for More Announcements

The Vanguard Award is a group honor distinguishing a film’s cast and director in recognition of their collective work on an exceptional film project. Past recipients of the Vanguard Award include Academy Award Best Picture winners Green Book and The Shape of Water as well as Best Picture nominees Belfast, Emilia Pérez, Killers of the Flower Moon, La La Land, Little Miss Sunshine, The Fablemans, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

“It is an enormous honor to present this year’s Vanguard Award to Hamnet,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “One of the most resonant films of the year, director Chloé Zhao brings forth a story of enormous weight to the screen. Alongside her direction, the extraordinary performances of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal establish its human core. We are excited to recognize Hamnet for its exceptional achievement in cinematic storytelling.”

From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, comes a sensitively observed, magnificently crafted tale about the complexities of love and the healing power of art and creativity. Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet, the story follows impoverished Latin tutor William Shakespeare and free-spirited Agnes. The pair, captivated by one another, strike up a torrid affair that leads to marriage and three children. Yet as Will pursues a budding theater career in far-away London, Agnes anchors the domestic sphere alone. When tragedy strikes, the couple’s once-unshakable bond is tested, but their shared experience sets the stage for the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.

Hamnet joins this year’s previously announced honorees Michael B. Jordan (Icon Award), Leonardo DiCaprio (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Adam Sandler (Chairman’s Award) and Sentimental Value cast members Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning (International Star Award).

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Athena Jreij

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) — For 18 months, Bryan Newman, the owner of La Quinta Landing, says two food trucks brought affordable and flexible dining to Old Town La Quinta. 

Newman’s temporary use permit ended September 30th, and he’s now asking the city to extend it into the new year.

“It was cost effective for the business owners, and I was shocked to see how successful they were out of a small food truck,” Newman said.

However, with a food truck ban in the city, his venture has faced pushback, mainly from the owner of Old Town La Quinta, Wells Marvin.

“They’ve never allowed anything more than a three-day permit for food trucks anywhere in La Quinta. In fact, they don’t allow mobile homes or manufactured homes anywhere in La Quinta. So this was totally out of the ordinary,” Marvin said.

Newman says an appeal by Marvin in July of 2024 paused his business for 70 days, as the appeal was worked out. Now, he’s asking for an extension of the permit to recoup the costs.

“We kindly asked the city if we could at least get the days that were lost, because we did pay for an 18 month permit but for some reason, they weren’t interested in giving me the days that we were owed,” Newman said.

Newman says since the permit expired, the food truck owners have let go of their staff and been out of work. He believes a return of the food trucks would benefit not just the local business owners, but also the community and customers.

Still, the question has also risen on if the trucks take away business from existing restaurants.

News Channel 3 spoke with the owner of Stuft Pizza, John Bertram. He says it’s not an issue of customers, but rather resources in the Old Town area.

“That parking lot that has been there for 20 years, since we’ve been around has not expanded and it’s very busy. You know, these guys don’t they don’t have any trash receptacles. They don’t have a way to handle it with their trash, their parking,” Bertram said.

He believes if the trucks do come back, more work is needed on Newman and the city’s part to adapt the lot.

News Channel 3 reached out to the city for more information. They said in a statement that the permit was approved with the expectation the land would be further developed by Newman. They also said there is no plan to offer an extension.

Newman says he still plans to develop the land, but it won’t be done overnight and would like to see the food trucks back in the meantime.

“Knowing that I can’t break ground with a shovel tomorrow overnight, it makes more sense to think that the food trucks would have a place to coexist,” Newman said.

Stick with News Channel 3 as we continue to follow this story.

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KESQ News Team

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Some Palm Springs Unified School District students and their families enjoyed chicken teriyaki meals this week provided by a local restaurant owner hoping to help those in need of food.

Katherine Finchy Elementary School mom Tara Lazar wanted to help families struggling to buy food as soon as she heard about the SNAP benefit shutdown. Lazar, who owns several local restaurants and operates F10Love and Frankie the Food Truck, reached out to PSUSD to partner in providing 2,000 meals to PSUSD families impacted by the hold on SNAP payments.

The District identified and invited a total of 2,000 of its families in need to two meal distribution events – one in Desert Hot Springs on Tuesday, and one held Wednesday at Palm Springs High School.

Lazar said of the initiative, “I think us in the restaurant business, we, it’s our responsibility to do more. We have the access to it. We have access to food. We’ve had many generous donors for this.”

Lazar started F10Love during COVID and hopes this will be the first of many collaborative efforts with PSUSD.

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Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – A weekend storm that knocked out power to parts of Palm Springs has renewed long-running frustrations over outages, delayed repairs and what residents describe as poor communication from Southern California Edison (SCE).

Jeff Monford, SCE spokesperson, said crews dealt with the most rain they’d seen in a long time.

“Our crews work to restore power as quickly as they can do so safely,” Monford said.

He said some neighborhoods near Chia Road, faced longer delays due to the position of some power poles.

“Power poles are not accessible from the street via truck. They’re in backyards,” Monford said. “That means that repair work can sometimes take longer when crew members have to go in backyards and climb the poles themselves, as opposed to reach them from their truck. They can do that work mostly during daylight. As you can imagine, it’s not safe otherwise.”

But Phillip Zamudio, Palm Springs resident, who remained without electricity for nearly 22 hours, said he woke up to 3 SCE workers trying to scale his back wall without warning.

“It just shows you the overall lack of transparency and communication that was received during the entire outage,” Zamudio said. “To not notify us to say there could be SCE employees that would need to gain access to your backyard, super concerning.”

Zamudio also raised concerns about restoration estimates, food and medication loss and reports of downed power lines sitting unaddressed.

Monford said crews were responding to a large number of outages.

“The most important thing to know about a downed wire is to stay away from it at least 100 feet and call 911,” Monford said.

While investigating the weekend outages, News Channel 3’s Shay Lawson also identified a second neighborhood facing separate electrical issues, including repeated power surges that residents said have caused thousands of dollars in damage.

SCE has not yet answered questions about the ongoing surge problems affecting the second neighborhood near Racquet Club Road.

Stay with News Channel 3 at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. for the full story.

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Jesus Reyes

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Riverside County Sheriff’s Office reports that a wanted suspect was arrested Wednesday night in Desert Hot Springs after leading them on a pursuit that began in Palm Desert.

The chase began just before 4:30 p.m. after deputies located a vehicle being driven by a wanted subject in the area of Dinah Shore Drive and Monterey Avenue in Palm Desert. Deputies say they attempted to stop the car, but the subject fled.

The pursuit went through Palm Desert and ended in the 13000 block of Nahum Drive near Two Bunch Palms Trail in Desert Hot Springs after the vehicle became disabled.

Deputies say they eventually located the suspect in a home on the 13000 block of Nahum Drive and report that they detained and arrested the subject without incident.

There was a heavy police presence in the area after the pursuit and throughout the investigation. Witnesses say the area was taped off until around 7:00 p.m.

RSO says the investigation is ongoing and they have no additional information available at this time.

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Peter Daut

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – After years of anticipation, fundraising, and construction, the curtain is finally rising again at Palm Springs’ iconic Plaza Theatre. News Channel 3’s Peter Daut got an exclusive tour of the multi-million dollar restoration, just days before the grand reopening.

The transformation is dramatic. Historic details have been fully restored, and cutting-edge technology has been seamlessly woven throughout the theatre.

“If it were December 12, 1936 this is exactly what it would have been. This is what it would have looked like. In fact, when you look around and you see these village scenes, and you see the starfield above us, this is exactly what was here. Most of this is completely original, repainted, and restored, but completely original,” Plaza Theatre Foundation President J.R. Roberts said.

During the tour, Roberts pointed out the new seats: “We went with the best we could find and the most comfortable we could find. When we started this restoration, the theatre actually sat 800 people. We reduced that by 100 seats, so these seats can be bigger, wider, and generally just more comfortable with more distance between them,” he said. Daut then asked him, “I notice there’s air-conditioning beneath the seats.” Roberts responded, “Yeah, you’re seeing the vents. We went with state-of-the-art in air-conditioning. So instead of it coming out of a ceiling with a loud hum, we’re now bringing the air-conditioning and the heat directly up under the seat, so we will get a consistent temperature and it is virtually silent.”

Roberts pointed out the twinkling stars on the ceiling, which can be adjusted. “So it’s very high drama, very atmospheric, and the vessel or the theatre becomes as exciting as a show on the stage,” Robert said.

On the stage, patrons can observe the original beautiful paintwork on the proscenium, which was found hidden behind drywall.

A huge part of the project: reinforcing the 90-year-old structure to meet modern earthquake standards. “We opened walls, then carefully like threading a needle, put huge steel girders and concrete columns within the walls around the theatre. This theatre can withstand pretty much any earthquake that we know of to date. The skin on the outside is original, but inside it’s all new and fresh,” Roberts said.

Daut asked Roberts, “What is the sound quality going to be like here?” He responded: “The sound quality here will be as good as any theater anywhere. We never skimped. When we were given options on different levels of sound, we always went to the highest. Lighting and sound, I don’t have to tell you are hugely important. The lighting and the sound systems together, completely combined, were at least $2 million on those two pieces alone. We wanted the Plaza Theatre to be a warm, inviting cocoon but to offer the best technology and the best entertainment that’s available today.”

Helping with that entertainment: Oak View Group Senior Vice President and Plaza Theatre General Manager, John Bolton. In addition to opening act Cynthia Erivo on December 1st, some of the big names already scheduled include Lily Tomlin, Jane Lynch, and Billy Porter. There will be a wide range of musicians, comedians, plays, and educational programs. “Classical music, pop music, country music, jazz, opera. You name it, we’ll have it all here in this very, very beautiful and intimate space,” Bolton said.

The theatre will also showcase local groups, including the Palm Springs Symphony, Musical Theatre University, and the Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus. “Ticket sales have been amazing. We’ve had over 10,000 ticket buyers from all 50 states and all over Canada that have purchased seats for our shows this season,” Bolton said.

When the project was first launched in 2019, the cost was estimated at $12 million. But the city-owned theatre ultimately cost roughly $30 million, funded through both public and private donations. Plaza Theatre Foundation Vice President Kevin Corcoran pointed out the Founder’s Wall, which “represents a subset of the 1300 people who have contributed millions of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars to see us bring this theatre back to life.”

Corcoran estimates the venue will generate $40 million a year in economic impact, with up to 150,000 patrons expected. “Imagine the impact having that many people coming downtown six nights a week on our restaurants, our retail, and our hotels. It’s amazing,” he said.

In addition to a new lobby bar, guests will find updated restrooms, dressing rooms, and a brand-new greenroom. And even with these modern enhancements, the theatre will remain true to its celebrated historic past. A corridor will serve as a museum, and the theatre is already collecting historical pieces.

“We want newer generations to walk in here and be dazzled as they are with anything they can find on their phones. We want to give them a real, live experience. Something very cool and very unusual. The Plaza Theatre is a history lesson, but the kind we all like,” Roberts said.

There will be a block party Saturday the 22nd from 10AM to 2PM. The free open house includes tours and entertainment. Again, the opening night gala with Cynthia Erivo will be December 1st, and currently tickets are still available.

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KESQ News Team

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Cathedral City car dealerships Toyota of the Desert and Honda of the Desert held their annual “Drive out Hunger” event on Wednesday to help local veterans with a holiday meal.

The event was company wide across nine states as part of their “We’re Hear for You” community giving program.

Here in the valley, dealership employees were on hand to distribute food at the American Legion Post 519 in Palm Springs.

Toyota of the Desert General Manager Anthony Caridi said, “I think a lot of times our service members are a little underappreciated because they’re kind of out there and kind of forgotten about, but the amount of work they do and sacrifice they do all over the world for us and our freedom here. So I can’t think of a better group.”

The event was from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

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