Category: kyma-local-news

Carolina Garcia

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) – A former Calexico flag football coach has been released from custody after being accused of abusing two underage students.

According to the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office, the decision was made because the alleged incidents did not happen in Imperial County.

The Calexico Police Department also said the case will be forwarded to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation remains active.

Click here to follow the original article.

Andrea Turisk

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of San Luis is preparing for possible heavy rainfall by offering residents sandbags.

If residents need sandbags, the City said they’re available at San Luis Fire Station No. 1. They can also get them across the street from the fire station.

The sandbag station is self-service and available on a first-come, first-served basis, so residents are encouraged to bring their own shovel.

For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 928-341-8577.

Click here to follow the original article.

Andrea Turisk

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of Yuma announced they are offering a free self-serving sandbag filling station.

Those will be available Friday and Saturday at the Yuma Civic Center, with the station being open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On-site shovels are limited, so residents are encouraged to bring their own. There is also a limit of five sandbags per vehicle.

To learn more about this, click here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Skylar Heisey

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A Yuma woman already facing charges for practicing nursing without a license is now facing new allegations.

Jennivyr Derakhshan, 51, the owner of Aura Grace Aesthetic Medical Group and Radiant Adult Medical Group in Yuma, was arrested last week.

In 2025, she was charged with fraudulent schemes, conspiracy, and more than a dozen counts of practicing nursing without a license.

Now, she is facing additional charges, which includes fraudulent schemes and practicing medicine and nursing without a license.

Derakhshan, who is still in custody, is scheduled to be back in court later this month.

Click here to follow the original article.

Skylar Heisey

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A Yuma man has been sentenced in connection to a series of nine burglaries on Fourth Avenue.

Guillermo Torres, 52, was sentenced Thursday to 3.5 years in prison, with credit for 190 days already served.

Torres previously pled guilty to two counts of burglary.

Ten other charges, which involved criminal damage, theft and burglary were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Click here to follow the original article.

Skylar Heisey

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A man accused of sexually abusing a child in Yuma pleaded not guilty to the charges in court.

The attorneys for Ethan Kotlinski, 29, previously raised an insanity defense, but Kotlinski has now been found competent to stand trial.

He is scheduled to go to trial next February.

Kotlinski and his wife, Amanda, 32, were arrested in March in connection with allegations involving a 13-year-old child.

Amanda, who is also facing charges, has a trial setting and change-of-plea hearing scheduled for November 13.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – A border kid from the Imperial Valley is taking his creative work to some of the biggest comic book conventions in the country.

Ruben Najera’s bilingual graphic novel, “Calaguerra,” won the International Latino Book Award in 2025. Now the story is expanding beyond the book.

“Right now, there’s a development of a video game right now that’s going on of my series. So I’ve been going back and forth, seeing visuals of that,” Najera divulged. “And that’s something that’s being developed right now.”

And comics aren’t his only outlet. He is the creative mind behind “Terrestro,” a skateboarding show company that recently signed some big names in the skateboarding world, including Hall of Famer Frankie Hill.

“If you want to see your vision happen, the best person to do it is yourself,” Najera said.

Najera recently spoke on a panel at San Diego Comic Con, and is heading to Los Angeles this month to speak at the L.A. Comic Con.

Click here to follow the original article.

Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma City Council unanimously approved a Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Program Wednesday.

The program authorizes seven recipient agreements for the upcoming fiscal year, totaling it over $480,000.

In addition, the funding would support housing accessibility, fair housing services, homeless outreach and rental assistance for eligible low-income households.

Mayor Doug Nicholls said the program is something that will help the community when it comes to housing.

“This is our main avenue, main way that we are able to affect or impact the people that need those services. Every year, we take this very seriously. We have a lot of debates. We have a whole committee that comes together and analyzes it. And we try to make the biggest impact on the community so that it does help,” Mayor Nicholls said.

The initial plan was adopted by the city council on June 3.

Click here to follow the original article.

Lauren Duffel

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A Yuma mother is speaking out and sharing her story after her son’s final resting place was vandalized.

The gravesite of 19-year-old Danny Garcia, who was one of the victims of the deadly house party shooting, has been vandalized not just once, but twice.

His mother, Mercedes Hernandez, says that weeks after she laid him to rest, her family alerted her to social media posts showing a group of boys vandalizing his grave.

“Some boys thought it would be funny to come to his gravesite, post pictures, put guns there, take his plaque, take it with them, and make a music video making fun of his passing and just doing a bunch of crazy things,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said her daughter alerted her to the social media posts.

“They had posted it on Instagram, so it was going around. My daughter called me and told me what happened. I jumped in my car and came straight over here with a couple of family members. We saw the flowers that were there scattered around and ripped up, and his plaque was missing,” Hernandez said.

Two videos, posted to social media, show Garcia’s plaque and the vandalism at the gravesite.

Hernandez said the vandalism of her son’s final resting place has significantly impacted their family.

“After this happened, I didn’t feel safe coming here. I didn’t know if someone was watching me, so it took a while for us to come back,” Hernandez explained.

News 11 also spoke with Sgt. Lori Franklin with the Yuma Police Department (YPD) about how serious gravesite vandalism is.

“Any damage you do to a gravesite is aggravated criminal damage, and that’s going to be a felony offense against you,” Sgt. Franklin said.

Anyone with information that could help identify the suspects is asked to contact YPD.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – A man who has undergone multiple heart surgeries is biking across America, stopping at fire stations along the way.

Bob Quick is embarking on his second cross-country bike trip, with one of his first stops at the fire house in Brawley.

He said it’s a way for him to thank first responders.

“I started doing it in 2016 after having major heart surgeries and issues and I’ve had 39 heart procedures done, so I just thank fire departments for keeping me alive all these years. And this is my second time here at this house,” Quick explained.

He said every mile is a reminder of how far he has come, and every fire station is a chance to say thank you.

Click here to follow the original article.