Category: kesq-local-news

Shay Lawson

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – Paul, a juror who helped convict former Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Rodriguez, 44, in June in the 2014 deadly shooting of Luis Carlos Morin, 39, said the decision was one of the toughest of his life — and one he is still carrying with him.

It happened when Rodriguez tried to arrest Morin, but killed him, over conflicts stemming from their connection to the same woman.

Paul asked News Channel 3 to refrain from using his last name for safety purposes.

“It was back and forth,” Paul said. “It was hard.”

The jury found Rodriguez guilty of voluntary manslaughter in June, for killing Morin.

Jurors also convicted the defendant of a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation.

“From all the evidence that was presented by the prosecution and the defense, nobody said that he went there with the intent to kill him,” Paul said. “He went with the intent to arrest him for two felonies, and that’s why our decision came to what it did.”

Paul said jurors were instructed to consider charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. He said early votes in the deliberation room reflected deep division, but after two days of discussion, both sides compromised.

“We finally came to the point where those that were going for murder, agreed to go down to involuntary manslaughter,” Paul said. “And those that were looking at involuntary agreed to go up to voluntary manslaughter, thinking that Oscar still could get 21 years with the gun charge.”

Prosecutors argued Rodriguez deliberately confronted Morin out of jealousy, while defense attorneys claimed Rodriguez acted in self-defense during a struggle.

Paul said Rodriguez’s decision to go alone to arrest Morin weighed heavily.

“He didn’t call for backup. He went to arrest a gentleman that had two felony warrants and he went by himself. That’s not according to policy,” Paul said.

The juror described the emotional toll of sitting through graphic testimony and photos, and the pain of seeing both families in court.

“I left the courtroom crying because this affected both families,” Paul said. “Having to make a decision in that… that was hard. That was hard for all of us in the jury.”

Still, Paul admitted he was stunned by the sentence on Wednesday.

Despite prosecutors’ objections, the judge sentenced Rodriguez to one year in county jail, with 194 days subtracted for time served, sparing Rodriguez from serving any time in state prison. He was also sentenced to 10 years probation.

“When I first learned it, I almost fell out of my chair,” he said. “I was shocked.”

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

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City News Service

Six people were arrested in connection with a spree of jewelry store robberies in Palm Desert and other counties, authorities said today.

The suspects were booked into Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of robbery, vandalism, grand theft, burglary, committing a theft with prior convictions and conspiracy, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The suspects were identified as:   — 20-year-old from Lancaster;   — 24-year-old from Rosamond;   — 28-year-old from Lancaster;   — 25-year-old from Los Angeles;   — 41-year-old from Lancaster; and   — 35-year-old from Los Angeles.

Deputies responded shortly after 2:10 p.m. Aug. 9 to a jewerly store in the 72800 block of Highway 111 in Palm Desert regarding a report of a robbery, according to sheriff’s Sgt. James Mills. Several witnesses called authorities to report that four masked individuals entered the business with hammers, destroyed several display cases and stole more than $87,000 in merchandise, Mills said.

Deputies learned that the theft in Palm Desert was connected to more than 10 “smash-and-grab” style robberies targeting jewelry stores in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties since May.   

After a multi-agency operation, authorities arrested two of the suspects in Lancaster without incident Sept. 11. A third suspect was taken into custody without incident Sept. 16 in Lancaster.

On Sept. 18, a fourth suspect was arrested without incident in Los Angeles, and the fifth suspect was arrested without incident in Lancaster Tuesday, Mills said.   

The final suspect was taken into federal custody on an unrelated matter.   

The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information was urged to contact 760-836-1600.

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Blake Arthur

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) — Sometimes in life you come across someone who makes a lasting impact on your life for reasons you can’t fully comprehend.

I first met Alex Yang on Sunday, Jan. 19 during the final round of the American Express golf tournament, 9 months after he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also known as T-cell All.

At that time, in January of 2025, Alex was doing well and headed towards remission.

But a few months later in April, that all changed.

And now, Alex is fighting for his life.

“It was really tough to hear the news of the relapse, especially when everything was going so well and it seemed like everything would finally work out,” said Alex Yang.

Alex Yang is a 17-year-old who attends Palm Desert high school. But right now he’s not in school. He’s at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after being selected for trial.

“So Alex needs a bone marrow transplant. But in order to get to the bone marrow transplant, he needs to be in complete remission. He wasn’t able to do that through chemo, therefore, our last option left is the Car-T (trial),” said Geno Yang.

Everything has happened so fast. I’ve been speaking with Alex’s mom, Jamie, almost daily, getting updates. And recently, got the bad news. Alex’s trial had failed with the cancer coming back worse than before.

“As a mother, it’s so hard for me, to watch him suffer and going through pain. This was the most difficult thing to watch as a parent, but I believe in Alex. He’s such a strong kid and he never gives up,” said Jamie Yang.

Alex’s survival rate is extremely low, but his spirit remains extremely high, as he’s going to fight this until the very end.

“Even if my options were running out or are running out, I just, I don’t want to give up before I try, or like, I want, I want to see this to the end. I really don’t like giving up,” said Alex.

It’s been an incredibly difficult year and a half for Alex and his family, but if there is a silver lining in all of this, it’s that Alex’s strength and character has inspired so many.

“He’s the one that reassures us that everything is gonna be OK. The fact that he’s holding it together like that. How can I not, right? How can I not as a parent, be proud and feed off that and be just as strong or even stronger than, than how he is. I don’t think I could be stronger than him, honestly, just a special kid. I mean, it’s just unbelievable,” said Geno.

Alex needs something unbelievable to happen right now. He needs a miracle to save his life.

“I just want a normal life. Just wanna be able to go to school, hang out with my friends, you know, go to the gym, things like that, the movies. I could get my driver’s license, I’m pretty behind on that,” said Alex.

“He probably didn’t want to tell you, but yeah, one thing he wanted to do was, uh, go on a ride in a fighter jet. He wants to go in a fighter jet with, you know, like the Blue Angels,” said Geno.

A fighter jet for the ultimate fighter. Hopefully that day comes. The reality though is it might not. But that doesn’t take away from who Alex is as a son, a brother and genuine human being.

“Be kind to someone, cause you never know what they are going through, and just a small act of kindness can really make someone’s day or help them in more ways than you can imagine,” said Alex.

Alex remains in Philadelphia receiving radiation treatment.

The family tells me they do not expect Alex to get any better and they are preparing for the worst possible outcome.

Rarely do I do this, but rarely have I ever come across someone as special as local teenager Alex Yang. If you’d like to help the Yang family during this difficult time, please do so. They are some of the kindest and strongest people I’ve ever met. @KESQ https://t.co/3XHuXGyN1q

— Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) September 24, 2025

If you would like to support the Yang family in Alex’s fight against cancer, there is a GoFundMe page where you can donate. The family is deeply appreciative for any support during this difficult time.

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Peter Daut

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – As the Coachella Valley continues its rapid growth, Eisenhower Health is making major changes to prepare for the future. News Channel 3’s Peter Daut took an in-depth look at what the hospital is doing to meet the community’s evolving healthcare needs.

From new facilities to state-of-the-art technology, it’s almost hard to keep track of everything happening right now at Eisenhower.

For example, an entirely new section of the hospital is just days away from opening inside the original building, providing nearly three dozen additional inpatient beds.

“This is all brand new,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alan Williamson said. “There’s fresh paint on the walls, and we’re ready to have new patients come in.” The new nursing unit is part of the hospital’s broader expansion to meet the community’s growing needs.

“Are you hopeful that this will make a difference?” Daut asked him. He answered: “Absolutely. During the season in particular, we are at capacity. So patients are having to hold in the recovery room or emergency room, because we just don’t have a bed available for them. So now we’ll be able to accommodate those patients.”

In addition, construction is currently underway for the new Eisenhower Cardiovascular Institute, a multi-floor tower with about 100 exam rooms. Cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and specialized care teams will treat the full spectrum of heart disease and disorders in one location.

The hospital also recently expanded the Lucy Curci Cancer Center, adding nearly 6,000 square feet to increase patient care.

And in light of the Valley’s growing senior population, a new facility is also being planned for the Eisenhower Memory Care Center. The adult daycare program will serve adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias who may need care during the day. Across a shared courtyard from the Memory Care Center will be a new childcare facility for children of employees and physicians.

But one of the most important changes: bringing Eisenhower’s services closer to where people live and work. Over the last several years, the hospital has been opening clinics, stretching from Palm Springs to Indio to Yucca Valley. CEO Marty Massiello said creating access to services is essential.

“So much is happening outside of the hospital now in terms of healthcare. We see about 23,000 visits a year in the hospital. Last year we saw over 1.1 million visits in our outpatient clinics. So that was a real strategic move for us to get out there in the community and be where people are,” he said.

Eisenhower is also focusing on behavioral health and substance abuse. The hospital just expanded its on-campus mental and behavioral health clinic, from 5,000 to 12,000 square feet, and will be doing state-of-the-art treatments to help people with depression and other disorders. Additionally, there will soon be a new psychiatry residency program to bring more psychiatrists to the Valley. The hospital also recently opened a substance-abuse rehabilitation clinic in Cathedral City, offering medication-assisted therapy for drug and alcohol use disorder, outpatient withdrawal management, and walk-in referrals.

“It’s been a period of super growth for us. The community has really responded to our services, so we continue to get out there and provide those services. And I want to stress close to where people live and work,” Massiello said.

The hospital is also embracing the latest in medical technology. This summer, it began using six da Vinci 5 surgical robots, the most advanced robot in the world for minimally invasive surgeries. Not only does this help to provide better care for patients, but the hospital said it also helps with physician recruitment.

“It’s a high-demand, high healthcare-demand area, and it’s not always the easiest to recruit providers here, but given everything that we have from the latest in robotics, the latest in technology, it does help us in recruiting the best physicians here,” Executive Vice President and COO Ken Wheat said.

And as our Valley continues its massive growth, Massiello hinted something major could be coming. “How different will Eisenhower Hospital be 10 years from now?” Daut asked him. He replied, “If I was a betting person, I would say that we probably have another Eisenhower Hospital somewhere in the Valley. I think the Valley needs additional beds. And so, if I was a betting person, I would say that Eisenhower because of the trust of the community and the kind of care and services we provide, that it’s probably something that we should be considering for the future.”

Right now, the hospital is developing its new strategic plan to look at the next several years, and the needs of our growing community. It’s also important to note that Eisenhower is the only not-for-profit hospital in the Valley, so all these projects are being funded through the generosity of donors.

For more information on everything happening at Eisenhower, head to: https://eisenhowerhealth.org/growth/

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Garrett Hottle

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KESQ) The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says it has increased patrols around the GEO Adelanto ICE Processing Center following a string of violent incidents at immigration detention facilities nationwide, including a deadly shooting in Dallas on Wednesday morning.

Homeland Security confirmed one person in ICE custody was killed and two others critically injured after a rooftop sniper opened fire at the Dallas field office. 

The gunman later took his own life, authorities said.

In a Wednesday news release, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said deputies are “actively monitoring potential threats in coordination with our federal partners” and that the additional patrols are being conducted “out of an abundance of caution.”

“With all the violence happening across the country, your deputies remain vigilant,” said San Bernardino Couunty Sheriff Shannon Dicus. “Please partner with us and if you see something, say something, even threats on social media. We will respond in a significant manner to any extremist activity in this county.”

News Channel 3 was at the Adelanto facility on July 11, when Congressman Raul Ruiz attempted to gain access as part of a tour by members of Congress raising concerns about conditions inside. The detention center, run by the private contractor GEO Group, has been the focus of repeated complaints from detainees, inspectors and immigrant rights groups over medical care and sanitation.

Those concerns intensified this week with the death of 39-year-old Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a Mexican national and former DACA recipient, died Sunday after being held at Adelanto and transferred to a Victorville hospital.

ICE says he was undergoing surgery for an abscess and had underlying medical conditions. His family says he repeatedly begged for help but was only given Tylenol as his health declined.

Ayala-Uribe is the 14th detainee to die in federal immigration custody this year.

The Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino says they will follow up with dentention center autohrtires to ensure a thorough investigation.

“The Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino will follow up with detention center authorities to ensure a thorough investigation that fully determines the cause of death in light of the serious nature of this incident.” – https://www.gob.mx/sre/prensa/consular-actions-following-death-of-mexican-citizen-in-ice-custody-in-california

The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice called for a full investigation, saying in a statement: “No one should profit from immigrant incarceration, and no family should endure loss due to neglect.”

ICE says Ayala-Uribe was arrested in August and transferred to Adelanto on August 22.

The agency says a full review of his death is underway as required by federal policy.

Residents with tips or concerns about security near the Adelanto facility are urged to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department or We-Tip at 1-800-78-CRIME.

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Gavin Nguyen

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The valley’s Jewish population is ushering in a sweeter new year. Rosh Hashanah is the holiday that marks the start of the new year in Judaism.

Faith leaders of Jewish congregations in Palm Springs gave sermons when the holiday began Tuesday, with a smaller number of such services on Wednesday. It’s a part of the Jewish High Holidays – a period that will come to a close with Yom Kippur on the evening of October 1st this year.

Many took the time to reflect on the past year and usher in a “sweeter” new year, though some acknowledged that the holiday takes on added meaning in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

David Bent is the ba’al tekiah at Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs – a role in which he blows the shofar, a horn from a kosher animal like a ram. On Wednesday, he told News Channel 3, “We always keep Israel in our thoughts. You can’t separate the people from the land.”

In reference to the shofar, he continued, “It connects us from generation to generation. It is the same sound heard in every school, every synagogue. And we want every hostage home and we want to make sure that everybody knows. We remember those that have been fought and died.”

The worshipers who gathered at Temple Isaiah said they were using the holiday to reflect. They also hoped others would be able to realize that despite our differences, we’re all human.

The guest rabbi who gave sermons through Rosh Hashanah at Temple Isaiah, Rabbi Marc Rubenstein, offered his thoughts: “The world is upside down right now full of problems, but most of them are caused by man. And we can’t blame God for what’s happening in man’s endeavors.”

He continued, “You can’t fix the world, but you certainly can fix yourself. So in my sermon, I talked about the act of kindness, of being kind to people.”

Rabbi David Lazar, of Or Hamidbar, another congregation based in Palm Springs, also blew the shofar throughout Rosh Hashanah. He regularly finds families with children who don’t want to sit still for an hours-long service, instead offering to visit and entertain the kids with his long, heavy kudu horn.

He said in his sermons through the holiday, he and fellow worshipers adopted new prayers as the conflict continues in Gaza. One prayer is critical of the current Israeli government, while the other urges compassion for Palestinians worldwide.

“This particular moment of stress and tension and violence between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians and those that are of the opinion – the same opinion as myself – believe that there needs to be coexistence,” Rabbi Lazar explained.

He recognized that the country has been shattered by violence in the past year, and the environment has been broken by humans. Despite what he called a shattered state of the world, he offered this hopeful message for Rosh Hashanah: “My message this year to the community was we need to look at ourselves, how we are broken human beings and how we may even be shattered. But there is the potential of coming back together.”

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City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Two young men accused of killing a 13-year-old Cathedral City boy in a gang-related drive-by shooting pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in court on Wednesday.

James Ian Carter, 19, and Christian Arturo Milward Ildefonso, 18, were arrested last month following a Cathedral City Police Department investigation into the slaying of Alan Martinez.

Along with murder, both defendants are charged with criminal street gang activity, special circumstance allegations of perpetrating a murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang and shooting a victim from a moving vehicle, as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

Each man is being held without bail — Carter at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, and Ildefonso at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio.  They are scheduled to return to court on Nov. 17.

According to police, the attack happened just after 8 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the intersection of Whispering Palms and Mission Indian trails.   

Alan was walking with two friends on Whispering Palms when the defendants pulled alongside in a dark-colored sedan and engaged them, according to police Commander Jon Enos, who further said that within seconds, gunfire erupted from the vehicle, and Alan was hit and collapsed onto the street. His companions escaped injury, running away.

The car sped off as witnesses called 911, according to Enos.   

Paramedics arrived minutes later and attempted resuscitative measures, but Alan perished at the scene.

In the ensuing days, homicide detectives garnered sufficient evidence to identify the defendants as the alleged perpetrators. They were tracked to a residence on Genesee Cove in San Diego, where they were taken into custody without incident on Aug. 18.

Neither man has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County adult court.

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City News Service

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus announced the establishment of a presidential fellows program today honoring former President Gerald Ford, becoming the first California university to join the program.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program aims to provide students with advanced leadership and mentorship opportunities, and will seek applicants who embody the values of the 38th president of the United States, who called Rancho Mirage home after he left office. Officials said those values included civic engagement, ethical leadership and bipartisan cooperation.   

The program is open to any major at any level of education. Applicants must join a student organization registered with the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement, and will need to accrue 10 points during the candidacy semester in three categories of participation: regular meeting attendance, event attendance and service.

Step two is becoming a fellow and maintaining that status, including accruing seven additional points every semester and networking with the program’s community, according to organizers.

Those selected will engage in leadership training workshops, public service projects in the Coachella Valley, training in civil dialogue and bipartisan cooperation, one-on-one mentorship from community leaders, seminars, lectures and hands-on experiences with diverse communities, officials said.

“Becoming the only California chapter of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellows Program underscores our commitment to preparing the next generation of ethical leaders and engaged citizens,” said Kevin Grisham, professor of global studies and faculty advisor of the program on campus.

Other education institutions involved in the program include the University of Michigan, Hope College in Michigan and Middle Tennessee State University. Ford was originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“Grand Rapids and the Coachella Valley are bounded together by President Ford’s legacy of hard work, public service, personal integrity, bipartisan cooperation and courageous action,” officials said.

As of Wednesday, the program was going through the chartering process. It was not immediately clear when it will start or what the deadline will be to apply.

More information can be obtained by contacting kgrisham@csusb.edu, or 909-537-8276.

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Athena Jreij

BLYTHE, Calif. (KESQ) – On the “brink of collapse,” that’s how officials from Blythe and those locally describe the condition of Palo Verde Hospital.

They say the hospital is now looking at filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy and has just days of cash flow on hand, after years of mishaps with their billing system. Since May, the hospital has suspended intake of patients and surgeries, with only an ER left.

Those in Blythe say this means residents can’t get care near them, and are having to travel nearly 2 hours and over 100 miles to the Coachella Valley to seek care at hospitals like JFK Memorial Hospital or Eisenhower Health.

“Medically, people will die if it closes. They won’t be able to get emergency treatment, it won’t be available there,” Vice Mayor Johnny Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez says patients are being medically airlifted almost daily.

Palo Verde is now asking for forgiveness on an $8.5 million distressed hospital loan, with state legislators like Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez asking for an additional $4 million in emergency funding.

Now, La Quinta City Councilman Steve Sanchez, who also serves on the LAFCO commission, worries what this means for our local hospitals.

“We have our own strains we’re already having in the Coachella Valley. If you start adding 20,000 people, even if it’s you know 10% of them have to use the hospital, that is a lot of people. They have to come to Indio or Rancho Mirage or Palm Springs,” Sanchez said.

LAFCO is now looking at other options for Palo Verde, like the dissolving of their board, another health district taking over, or even the county and city of Blythe stepping in to oversee it.

“The goal for every elected official involved in this is to ensure that the residents of Blythe have hospital services. The secondary is we need to protect our hospital districts out here and not strain an already strained hospital in the Coachella Valley,” Sanchez said.

News Channel 3 reached out to local providers like Eisenhower Health and JFK Memorial, who told us it’s not uncommon for residents of Blythe to receive care in the Valley for extreme cases. However, if the hospital’s ER closed, which already provides stabilizing treatment, that would lead to an increase in patients.

It’s a consequence Rodriguez says his residents are already feeling the burden of.

“One man they couldn’t provide the services that he needed here at the hospital, so in the middle of the night they had to go to Eisenhower. It was about 2:00 a.m. when they got there. His wife texted our mayor and said, you got to fix this.”

On Thursday, the Riverside County LAFCO will decide the next steps for the hospital, and examine if dissolving the board into a local healthcare district is possible.

In a statement to News Channel 3, Palo Verde officials said.

“Chapter 9 is the last tool left while we work to fix the financial management challenges that haveso drastically impacted the hospital during the past two years. Our community deserves a functioning hospital. We are doing everything we can to keep it open. Monday night’s board action was an important step since getting the news that we would not be receiving emergency funding from the state of California, the County of Riverside or the City of Blythe. One of the advantages of filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy is that we can continue to operate the hospital and clinic while continuing to negotiate with our creditors.”

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

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Kendall Flynn

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – Fritz Burns Park is set to receive nearly $10 million in improvements, from a shaded plaza, to an expanded playground and new pool additions. 

The project will be conducted in phases, with the first phase starting just last week. The project is set to last through February 2026. During the current phase, the playground, the dog park, the large grass area and parts of the parking lot will be closed.

The first phase is the largest and includes many new amenities. It will add a new plaza with public art activities, drinking fountains, a restroom building and seating and shade. The improvements will also create an expanded playground with new equipment and a tree-lined area with picnic tables.

Starting November 3, the Fritz Burn Park community pool will also close for six to seven month for construction and pool equipment improvements. The closure has been a large topic throughout the construction process as the City of La Quinta debated what to do with its programs.

The pool hosts numerous programs by the Desert Recreation District, including a Senior Splash class. Many attendees were concerns their program would be canceled as the city debated whether or not to move their program to the Pawley Pool in Indio.

Council members worried many participants would stop attending the class at another pool, and that the low numbers would not be worth the cost of using Pawley Pool.

After hearing the concerns from La Quinta, 58 class members signed a paper to say they will attend the Pawley Pool classes.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from city officials, the Desert Recreation District and Senior Splash attendees on the project and the move.

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