Category: kesq-local-news

Jesus Reyes

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) – A San Diego-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer is facing federal charges for allegedly allowing vehicles containing undocumented migrants across the U.S.-Mexico Border, joining two other local CBP officers charged earlier this month.

A grand jury indictment alleges the officers allowed certain vehicles through while they manned inspection booths at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The defendants allegedly informed co-conspirators when they would be scheduled to work and what lanes they were assigned to in order to facilitate the illegal entries, according to prosecutors.

They also allegedly made false entries into the CBP database by misreporting the number of occupants in a given vehicle in order to hide that the vehicles contained undocumented immigrants, according to the indictment.   

Prosecutors said it happened on numerous occasions involving “dozens of cars” between August of last year until January.   

Two of the officers charged earlier this year — Farlis Almonte, 38, of San Diego, and Ricardo Rodriguez, 34, of Tijuana — allegedly accepted bribes to let the cars through. The latest indictment also charges Kairy Stephania Quinonez, 31, of Imperial Beach, though she is not facing charges related to bribery.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A newborn dropped next to a dumpster outside a Riverside apartment complex was in stable condition today, as authorities initiated a search for his mother, encouraging her or anyone who may know her to come forward.

The infant was discovered at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the 3800 block of Jackson Street, near Magnolia Avenue, less than a block from Sherman Indian High School, according to the Riverside Police Department.   

Officer Ryan Railsback said passers-by found the hours-old baby inside a refuse bin enclosure adjacent to the apartment building.   

“The baby boy was lying next to the dumpster, breathing, crying and with the umbilical cord still attached,” Railsback said. “Paramedics provided immediate care and transported him across the street to a hospital, where he is currently in good health and stable condition.”

Detectives determined the infant was abandoned immediately after the mother delivered him.  

“So far, they have not been able to identify the baby’s mother, or the person who may have placed him near the dumpster,” the police spokesman said. “Our primary concern is locating the mother to ensure her own health and safety and getting her any medical care or support she may need.”  

The police department is requesting that anyone with information reach out, including witnesses who may have noticed a girl or woman showing obvious signs of pregnancy previously, but no longer, without explanation.   

Detective Jessica Iniguez is handling the investigation and can be reached at 951-353-7121.  

Railsback said the department wishes to remind the public of the California Surrendered Baby Law, which permits parents or guardians who do not wish to be responsible for an infant within 72 hours of the child’s birth to safely and legally drop their newborn at any hospital or fire station with no questions asked.

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Jesus Reyes

THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) – Two adults were transported to the hospital after being exposed to what was originally believed to be fentanyl, but later determined not to be, at Desert Mirage High School, authorities said.

The incident was reported just after 1 p.m.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office was called to assist CAL FIRE, who reported being on scene with three adults and one juvenile who believed they had been exposed to fentanyl, a spokesperson for the agency told News Channel 3.

CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Frances Esparza told News Channel 3 that a student brought pills and a vape to school. Two staff members touched the pills and had an adverse reaction. The two adults are doing fine at the hospital.

Esparza said that a CAL FIRE hazmat unit confirmed the pills were not fentanyl, which RSO later also confirmed. The pills are being sent to a lab and results should be sent to the district in about two or three weeks.

“Deputies are still investigating, but a presumptive test showed a negative result for fentanyl,” RSO wrote in an email to News Channel 3.

CAL FIRE originally noted that they transported three minors with minor injuries as a precaution, however, officials confirmed no minors were hospitalized.

“We took all safety precautions and all students are safe,” Esparza said.

Deputies are currently investigating the substance involved.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.

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City News Service

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Riverside County supervisors today approved a compact to establish a new governing authority comprised of the county and multiple cities within the Coachella Valley that will be responsible for developing plans to ensure desert communities secure affordable electricity in the future.

“This is years in the making,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Manuel Perez said. “It’s going to cost $1.5 billion to build up and improve the generation and transmission (capacity), improve the power grid to provide electricity in the eastern Coachella Valley. Our goal is to keep costs as low as possible.”  

The board’s 5-0 vote Tuesday to join the proposed Coachella Valley Power Agency-Joint Powers Authority, or CVPA-JPA, lays the groundwork for eventually setting up an independent entity for acquiring, or possibly generating, electricity to sustain wide swaths of the valley. For now, however, the CVPA-JPA is proposed to function as a coordinate branch of the Imperial Irrigation District, which has been supplying the power needs of a large segment of eastern Riverside County for almost a century.

“Growth is occurring in the Coachella Valley at a tremendous pace, and frankly, the power needs have not kept up with that,” Coachella Valley Association of Governments Executive Director Tom Kirk told the board. “Something has to change. We’ve been wrestling with this issue for a number of years. We’re concerned that IID’s power system is not keeping up with demand, and we’re concerned that (county residents) are not receiving representation. This JPA would not replace IID, but would work with it to address issues specific to the Coachella Valley.”

CVAG took the lead in initiating the JPA concept, and its staff are slated to be at the forefront of fulfilling the new governing body’s administrative needs.

The JPA would supplant the Coachella Valley Energy Commission, which IID formed in 2021 in response to complaints from the agency’s Riverside County energy recipients about not having direct input on the IID Board of Directors. The CVED has only offered advice; the new JPA would be positioned to vote on plans for projects, as well as pass resolutions advocating new ones.   

Under the California Government Code, to found a JPA, at least three voting members are needed. The La Quinta City Council formally approved adding a representative last month, and with the county’s support Tuesday, only one other prospective member is needed to enact the JPA. That’s expected to happen Wednesday, when the Indio City Council will take up the proposal.   

Going forward, multiple entities will be eligible to join, including four Native American tribes, four municipalities and the Coachella Valley Water District.

Only one person spoke in opposition to the JPA — Rancho Mirage resident Brad Anderson. He told the board there were “other avenues that should be investigated” before creating another governing entity that will come with costs.

The JPA agreement acknowledged that operations, including the use of CVAG personnel, will require funding, which may be obtained via new fees, assessments on cities that are voting members, or possibly electrical surcharges. None of those costs had been determined yet.

Moreno Valley resident Roy Bleckert suggested the obvious electricity cost-saver may be a new nuclear power plant.   

“There won’t have to be subsidies,” he told the board. “California has the highest cost of electricity in the country, and it’s going higher. You should be enacting policies that would actually be effective.”

Perez, whose Fourth District encompasses the entire Coachella Valley, said it was worth considering.   

Once the JPA is formed, affected residents will be notified of the governing body’s meetings and how to contact their representatives about any issues of concern.

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Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Acclaimed writer and director Ron Oliver, known as the “King of Hallmark Christmas movies,” received his star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars.

The ceremony was held Friday morning at 222 S Palm Canyon Drive, where the star is located.

Oliver is an Emmy-nominated director, writer, producer, and composer whose career launched with the cult horror classic Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, called “the Blue Velvet of high school horror movies” by the Los Angeles Times.

He’s written and directed a string of award-winning movies and TV favorites for Warner Bros., Universal, Disney, and Fox.

Oliver is perhaps best known for his numerous Hallmark Christmas films, which are among the highest-rated in the network’s history, and his Netflix hit “Falling for Christmas,” which became the #1 movie worldwide.

He’s also been recognized for helping make Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark one of the “Top Ten Most Frightening TV Shows” ever made. He also cast a teenage Ryan Gosling during his time on “Goosebumps.”

A two-time Directors Guild of America nominee, Oliver’s career has taken him from Berlin to Johannesburg to Hollywood (with a few stops for cocktails along the way). His work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, and even splashed across the front page of The Wall Street Journal.

He’s a published author of award-winning short fiction, and in 2018, he was granted Knighthood by the Sovereign Nation of Sealand — although despite the official title Sir Ronald Oliver OMS, he still happily answers to “Hey, you!”

A proud Palm Springs resident since 2003, Ron Oliver purchased a midcentury A-frame in Racquet Club Estates and quickly became an active part of the community. As a founding Communications Coordinator for the Racquet Club Estates Neighborhood Organization (RCENO), he helped raise funds for the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, Vista Del Monte Elementary, and other local causes. He’s also a longtime supporter of the Palm Springs Art Museum, Modernism Week events, and formerly, the Well in the Desert.

Oliver famously penned Beethoven’s Treasure Tail while staying at the historic Ingleside Inn—where, on Christmas night 2013, he married his husband in a courtyard ceremony officiated by actor and close friend Udo Kier.

Oliver nominated Kier for a star, which is the 437th. The ceremony was held in Jan. 2020.

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Jesus Reyes

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A jury convicted an 82-year-old man of killing a 75-year-old woman in Palm Springs six years ago.

Stephen Roy McKernan was found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Claire Carsman at her Palm Springs home in 2019, court records show. The jury also found true a sentence-enhancing charge of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.

McKernan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6. He faces 16 years to life in state prison.

Jury began its deliberations on Friday.

During his closing statement Thursday, Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Steven Sorensen acknowledged, “We don’t know why Mr. McKernan did it.”

But the prosecutor said testimony in the two-week trial had revealed there were political differences between the defendant and victim — she a Democrat, he a Republican.

“She was watching one of her TV shows, and they bickered,” Sorensen said. “He had a sadistic reason.”  

According to testimony, McKernan had known Carsman and her husband, whose identity was not disclosed, for years, and the couple invited him to stay with them in April 2019.

In the early afternoon of April 22, the victim’s spouse headed to an area casino to gamble, as was his habit, leaving his wife and McKernan alone at the single-story residence at 360 W. Pico Road, near Zanjero Road.   

Sorensen said nothing was amiss until 5:53 p.m., when the man received a rapid succession of four calls from McKernan in under 10 minutes, all of which he missed.

One of the voicemail messages was replayed for the jury, during which McKernan was heard saying, “It’s a nightmare you’ve never been in your life. I need you to stay away so you’re not in any danger. We got attacked. We need your attorney. Jesus Christ.”

McKernan then called 911, telling the dispatcher, “We had a break-in. I think someone is dead.”   Carsman’s husband and the police arrived to find a grisly scene.   

“She was bludgeoned,” Sorensen said, adding that blood spatter covering the defendant’s clothes indicated he “had to hold the barstool facing Mrs. Carsman.”

The defense countered during closing arguments last week that investigators could never determine whathad transpired, or whether Carsman and McKernan were the only ones in the house at the time of the crime.   

Selyem pointed to reports three vehicles were parked near the residence when McKernan called police on the afternoon of April 22, 2019, but none of them were checked.

The attorney emphasized that his client was wearing a cast while healing from a broken arm, leaving him unable to lift heavy objects, like the bar stool that investigators confirmed had been used in the deadly assault.   

“He drank wine, a quantity not known even to him, and he was taking Ativan,” Selyem told the jury. 

Ativan is used to treat anxiety disorders and can lead to drowsiness.   

The defense criticized detectives’ crime log from the scene, calling it a “disaster.”

“There are questions that have not been answered,” he said, referring particularly to “questionable” DNA evidence suggesting another person was in the victim’s residence, corresponding to McKernan’s initial statement that somebody had broken into the property.

Selyem said his client suffered cognitive impairment from a stroke, and he had an affinity for alcoholic beverages, but he was known as a “happy drunk.”

“He was safe around Mrs. Carsman,” the attorney said, dismissing the prosecution’s allegation that a disagreement over a news program may have ignited a conflict that turned fatal.  

“He was not capable of forming intent,” Selyem said.

McKernan was taken into custody without incident. He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Tori King

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, but there is still plenty of time to get something special for the mom in your life. However, consumers may have to spend more money this year to get the same quality of gifts they purchased in previous years.

Recent reports from the Federal Reserve imply that inflation may be cooling in the near future, however, that relief is not going to arrive fast enough for families preparing to celebrate this weekend. Americans are spending less and less on gifts amid the current environment of uncertainty. New data from CivicScience shows that 39% of Americans don’t plan to spend anything on a Mother’s Day gift this year at all. That’s a 5% increase from 2024. In addition, the percentage of people who will be spending more than $50 is down from last year as well. Among those who are buying gifts, flowers lead the way, followed by taking mom out to dinner.

Shoppers don’t realize that the majority of cut flowers sold in the United States are imported, many of them coming from South America. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 80% come from overseas with nearly 90% of those from South America.

News Channel Three’s Tori King spoke with the owner of My Little Flower Shop in Palm Springs who says this is one of their busiest times of the year.

“We are really busy for Mother’s Day, and it’ll only get busier,” said Gregory Goodman. Goodman says florists have been hit hard by tariffs. “I just talked to my glass guy who told me that glassware that used to cost $5 is now going to be $15 wholesale glass. So we’re going to try and eat as much as we can. I mean, it’s not easy. And then the tariffs going on for flowers. Wholesalers are already charging us tariff prices. We get a lot of flowers from Holland, Ecuador, you know, everywhere overseas, Israel, even Japan,” said Goodman. “So those aren’t really coming right now. And we were at market today, and probably the market was maybe 10% full with people buying, which is really bad, and the product looks old, because they’re not turning it over fast enough.”

Goodman says he’s now turned to working with local farms to get flowers, that way the store can avoid tariffs and not pass along costs to the customer.

“So we go to the farms directly as much as possible here and try to buy local things,” said Goodman.

Another store, Julie’s Hallmark Shop, is working to keep gifts affordable for Mother’s Day.

“We do have a lot of customers who do come in especially about week to two weeks prior,” said Ashley Elliott, a Manager at Julie’s Hallmark Shop. “We try to find different products and be really conscientious of our customers wallets.

The store sells thousands of gift items, including cards, candles, clothing, mugs and more. Elliott says although they have been hit by the tariffs, they do work to find something in everyone’s budget.

“Sometimes they’re on a tight budget, and that’s when you recommend anything from just a 99 cent card, to maybe a $5.99 little plushie,” said Elliott. “Sometimes it’s a really big deal, they’re willing to spend. And we do try to just be conscientious of our customers. That’s the number one thing that we’re trying to do, is pay attention to them and their needs and budget.”

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Gavin Nguyen

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The Department of Education has resumed collecting student loans for borrowers in default.

The department has not collected on defaulted loans since March 2020.

In a press release, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon says, “Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment—both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook.”

The Department of Education also says more than 5 million have not made a monthly payment on their student loans in 360 days, placing them in default. An additional 4 million are in late-stage delinquency, meaning they haven’t made a payment in 91-180 days.

News Channel 3 has reached out to local institutions, like College of the Desert and California State University, San Bernardino, to hear from financial aid advisors on what students can do as they weigh repayment options.

Stay with us for the latest.

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City News Service

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. (KESQ) – A 44-year-old man is in custody today after allegedly driving a vehicle into the Lake Elsinore sheriff’s station.   

The incident was reported at around 5:10 a.m. Monday at 333 Limited Ave., according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Sheriff’s Sgt. Brad Foster, deputies discovered through surveillance footage that shortly after 2 a.m., a vehicle intentionally drove through the curb, the metal fence, and into the front lobby of the station causing significant damage.

The driver reversed and fled the scene, officials said.   

The suspect, identified as a Wildomar resident, was arrested and booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta later Monday on suspicion of vandalism. His bail was set at $10,000.

The Lake Elsinore station was temporarily closed, but has since been reopened.

Anyone with further information about the case was urged to contact Investigator Layos at 951-245-3000.

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Jesus Reyes

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – A man faces attempted murder charges after being accused of firing a gun at a group of people at a Twentynine Palms apartment complex.

The shooting was first reported on Thursday at around 9:40 a.m. at the Adobe Villas apartments on the 73700 block of Raymond Way.

First responders from multiple agencies rushed to the area following a report of a shooting. Responding personnel found no injuries or signs of property damage.

Authorities learned that a man, identified as a 26-year-old resident of the complex, discharged a firearm at a group of three individuals. The man fled the scene on foot before deputies arrived.

The man was not initially found and detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Deputies located the man on Friday near the intersection of Cactus Drive and Adobe Road. He was taken into custody and booked into jail, where he remains in lie of $200,000 bail.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is urged to contact the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station at (760) 366-4175. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78 CRIME (27463) or online at www.wetip.com.

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