Among those charged are Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, and Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills. Also named in the case are Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska.

 According to federal prosecutors, the group conspired to organize an attack during the UFC Freedom 250 event, allegedly planning to use drones equipped with explosives to trigger panic and force an evacuation. Investigators said the suspects then intended to position snipers to target selected individuals as crowds fled the area.

 The FBI said it became aware of the alleged threat on June 10 and launched an investigation that ultimately led to the arrests and charges.

 Court documents describe a mixture of anti-government beliefs, antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories among members of the group. Investigators said some participants expressed anger over the federal government’s handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and promoted claims involving secret elites controlling the government.

 “Protecting the President of the United States and the White House grounds is priority number one for the U.S. Secret Service,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement. “The landscape has changed, and as a result we have seen a dramatic rise in threats against our protectees.”

 Authorities said the investigation gained momentum after Proper’s mother contacted law enforcement with concerns about her son’s recent firearm purchases and online activity.

 Federal investigators allege members of the group communicated through encrypted messaging platforms, where discussions reportedly included targeting elected officials, business leaders and critical infrastructure such as power grids.

 According to an FBI affidavit, Thomas allegedly told investigators the group’s objective was to overthrow the U.S. government. The affidavit states Thomas subscribed to conspiracy theories claiming that powerful individuals secretly controlled government institutions and were being protected by public officials.

 Investigators also cited messages allegedly exchanged in a group chat on June 7. In one message, Thomas reportedly wrote, “$1300 gets us the drones and the charges. Yes we should all pitch in and we need it asap.”

 Federal authorities further allege that Thomas discussed meeting with Roa in Southern California for firearms and marksmanship training. Investigators said messages referenced preparing for what participants described as “gorilla style warfare.”

 During a June 13 search of Thomas’ residence, FBI agents reportedly recovered a rifle, multiple extended-capacity magazines, a pistol and approximately 180 rounds of ammunition.

 A search of Roa’s home and vehicle allegedly uncovered a rifle, handgun, ammunition, tactical gear, a two-way radio and an infrared laser aiming device. Investigators also reported finding messages on Roa’s phone linking him to conversations about the planned attack.

 According to court filings, Roa told agents he intended to attend the event as a protester but said he was unable to travel after experiencing vehicle problems.

 If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, each defendant could face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Prosecutors said a separate charge involving conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

 President Donald Trump attended the UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday, which coincided with his 80th birthday celebration. Trump previously had a social relationship with Jeffrey Epstein years before Epstein’s criminal conduct became public. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, federal court filings and charging documents.

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Rodolfo Garcia, 44, of Perris is charged with first-degree murder, four counts of armed robbery, three counts of kidnapping to commit robbery, two counts each of false imprisonment and firearm assault and one count each of burglary and carjacking.

Pretrial motions in the case wrapped up Thursday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, where Riverside County Superior Court Judge Johnnetta Anderson ordered multiple panels of prospective jurors to appear Monday for the start of screening as to their availability and qualifications.

Garcia is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

His former co-defendant and friend from childhood, 34-year-old Jesus Ledesma Guzman of Lancaster, was similarly charged but was killed in a gunfight with U.S. Marshals trying to arrest him in Northern California almost eight years ago.

The men are accused of gunning down Silvano Gutierrez Esteves at his residence in February 2018.

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, the pair were allegedly part of a “home invasion robbery crew” composed of about a dozen men, who wore ballistic vests and masks, wielded high-capacity rifles and waged campaigns of terror against their targets throughout Southern California.

Guzman was believed to be the ringleader and buried at least five victims around his Lancaster property, according to the brief.

Nearly seven months before the slaying of Esteves, on July 17, 2017, the crew went to a Nuevo home where illegal marijuana was grown and forced their way into the residence in the middle of the night, leveling guns at the half-dozen occupants, including three children, ages 3 to 9 years old, the trial brief alleged.

One of the intruders threatened to rape the young girl in the house unless their demands for money and other valuables were met, according to court papers. Her two male siblings were wrested away from their parents and isolated in a room separate from the adults, who were told the youngsters would be abducted unless everyone cooperated, the brief said.

The robbery crew kicked, struck with rifle butts and shoved the victims to the floor, according to documents.

The victims didn’t resist, surrendering “over $10,000, two horse- mounting chairs, marijuana, a counting machine, a safe, super .38-caliber pistol, jewelry, a (pickup) truck and a van,” the brief said.

The loot was taken to Garcia’s house and divvied up, the prosecution alleged.

According to the brief, Garcia had been at odds with Esteves because the victim believed that the defendant had stolen “large quantities of marijuana” from him. The feud between the men ultimately led to Garcia and an unidentified man appearing in front of the victim’s Monroe Avenue house, brandishing handguns and threatening to kidnap him if he persisted in his antagonism, according to the brief.

A few weeks later, in the predawn hours of Feb. 5, 2018, Garcia and Guzman allegedly stormed the victim’s home, prompting Esteves to hide his wife and son in a closet while he attempted to negotiate with the pair, prosecutors said.

The D.A.’s office alleged the defendants ignored his pleas and “repeatedly shot him, then left without stealing a single item from the home.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Walter Mendez said a “large amount of marijuana” was found at the location, but hadn’t been touched.

“There was no indication of a robbery, simply a premeditated home invasion assassination,” according to the brief.

Sheriff’s detectives ultimately gathered sufficient evidence pointing to Garcia’s alleged involvement, and by extension, Guzman’s. However, by that time, the latter was under investigation by authorities in Los Angeles County for alleged drug-related killings there, according to prosecutors.

Garcia was arrested without incident on Oct. 29, 2018, in Menifee.

Guzman was tracked down by federal agents in Inyo County, where they attempted to take him into custody for the Menifee killing, as well as killings in northern Los Angeles County, according to Mendez.

He said the fugitive opened fire on the agents, who returned fire and killed him.

Court records show Garcia has prior convictions for felony driving under the influence, auto theft and receiving stolen property.

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Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded around 10:23 p.m. to the 1300 block of Heron Way after receiving reports of an assault with a deadly weapon.

Upon arrival, deputies discovered evidence of a shooting and located a man suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to investigators, the homeowner had been visiting a nearby residence when he heard screams and gunshots coming from his own home. He immediately returned and encountered an unknown man inside the residence who was armed with a shotgun.

Sheriff’s officials said the homeowner armed himself and confronted the intruder. During the confrontation, the suspect allegedly fired several rounds at the homeowner, who returned fire, striking the intruder.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said no other injuries were reported.

As part of the investigation, the homeowner was transported to the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station for questioning. No arrests have been made.

The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of family members.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit is leading the investigation. Once completed, the case will be forwarded to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact Central Homicide Investigator Cook at 951-955-2777 or San Jacinto Station Investigator Ghiliotty at 951-654-2702.

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While the former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes on two U.S. coasts and remains behind bars, the mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo. Weinstein appeared expressionless as court officers ushered him out in his wheelchair.

The majority-male Manhattan jury had been weighing whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual. It happened in 2013 during a fraught relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger Mann.

A juror, Josh Hadar, told reporters that he and eight others wanted to acquit Weinstein. He said Mann had an “incredible memory” when she testified for the prosecution but “forgot a lot of things” when questioned by defense attorneys.

Weinstein’s defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo called it “a great day for our jury system.”

Juror Sarae Perez, 25, said the threshold for a conviction — beyond a reasonable doubt — was on her mind.

“There were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it,” she said.

Mann said in a statement that the mistrial “doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told.” She said she relived painful moments and faced public attacks while seeking justice because “the power of predators remains too great.”

No immediate decision about a fourth trial

Signs of a split jury emerged a few hours into their third day of deliberations, when they sent a note saying they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. Judge Curtis Farber told them to keep trying, a common step when a jury first says it’s stuck.

More than an hour later, they sent another note saying: “We feel that no one is going to change where they stand.”

A hearing was set for June 24 to learn whether prosecutors will choose to go to a fourth trial. District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he was disappointed with the result but “we deeply respect the jury system.”

Bragg said his staff will consult Mann about another trial and also take into account what happens to Weinstein when he’s sentenced in another case. Mann was not in court when the mistrial was declared.

How the case returned for a third trial

As an Oscar-winning movie producer and studio boss, Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures and a significant Democratic donor before the long-suppressed sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against him cascaded into public view in 2017. The revelations galvanized the #MeToo movement ’s demands for accountability for sexual misconduct, made Weinstein a pariah, bankrupted the studio and ultimately led to criminal charges against him in New York and Los Angeles.

He was convicted of some and acquitted of others. Yet Mann’s allegation lingered. Weinstein was convicted of the charge in 2020. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict, and jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial. That paved the way for this year’s retrial.

Weinstein has said he was unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

Jury heard from Weinstein’s accuser

Mann, now 40, met Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013, when she hoped to build a handful of acting credits into a big career. He took interest and soon showed that it wasn’t purely professional.

She said his initial, pushy overtures discomfited her, but she acceded to them and decided to develop a relationship with him.

She was staying with a friend at a Manhattan hotel in March 2013 when Weinstein showed up early for a planned breakfast and got a room over her objections, Mann testified. She said she accompanied Weinstein to the room to talk and made it clear she didn’t want sex.

“I said ‘no,’ over and over, and I tried to leave,” she told jurors during five days of intense testimony.

She said that Weinstein blocked her from leaving and grabbed her arms. Scared, she gave up protesting, complied with his demands to undress, and laid on a bed while he went into a bathroom, she told jurors. Then, Mann said, he raped her.

Mann told no one for years about the alleged rape. Nor did she mention it in her introspective, private writing two days later. In a note to herself, she grappled with conflicted feelings about becoming “emotionally attached” in a nonexclusive relationship with a man she didn’t name.

After Weinstein’s new lawyers confronted Mann with the note, she said she hadn’t needed to write down the allegation.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann has done.

Weinstein defense: Mann was supportive

Weinstein didn’t testify. In his lawyers’ telling, Mann was a willing partner in a close, supportive relationship with a show-business insider who opened doors for her, but she turned on him once he became an outcast.

In the months and years after the New York encounter, Mann kept seeing and communicating with Weinstein.

At times, she pulled away to pursue and preserve a relationship with a new boyfriend, according to her emails and testimony. At other times, she turned back to Weinstein, who validated her acting dreams, told her he was proud of her and responded caringly when her father was terminally ill.

“I love u. Anything u need,” Weinstein wrote.

Over the years, he helped Mann land a movie audition — it went nowhere — and a hairstyling job. She asked him for help with such things as a car problem and a club membership, though she declined a package his office tried to send in summer 2013, when she couldn’t make rent. Mann said she understood the envelope contained $1,000 in cash.

In one of her last emails to Weinstein, in February 2017, she wrote: “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.” When he responded by suggesting she was “joking” and should stop using his company email, she said it was a joke and apologized.

Eight months later, she saw the news reports that propelled his downfall and ultimately prompted her to go to police.

Mann never sued Weinstein, but after his 2020 conviction, she filed for and got about $500,000 from a sexual misconduct settlement fund set up during his company’s bankruptcy. The payout was mentioned at last year’s retrial, but the defense didn’t raise it this time after extensive arguments about what could and couldn’t be said.

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    Police identified the suspect as Toai Pham, who detectives say was taken into custody on May 8 at a local driving range. After being booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center, Pham was later released and is expected to appear in court on June 23 at the Riverside Superior Courthouse.

    Investigators believe there could be additional victims who have not yet contacted authorities. Riverside Police Detective Steven Espinosa said detectives are encouraging anyone who may have encountered Pham, or someone matching his description, around the Mt. Rubidoux area to come forward.

    “If you have seen Pham or someone with a similar description approaching women around the area of Mt. Rubidoux, we encourage you to come forward,” Espinosa said.

    The investigation began after a woman contacted the department’s Public Safety Communications Center on the morning of March 9 at approximately 8:30 a.m. to report that she had been sexually battered while hiking in the Mt. Rubidoux area.

    According to investigators, detectives later learned that Pham regularly hikes Mt. Rubidoux during the morning hours.

    Police said the victim told investigators that Pham approached her during the hike and allegedly touched her inappropriately without consent.

    Anyone with information related to the investigation is being asked to contact Officer James Payne at (951) 353-7113 or by email at JPayne@RiversideCA.gov.

    Anonymous tips may also be submitted through the Riverside Police Department’s “Atlas 1” mobile app using the department’s secure “Send a Message” feature, which is available on both Apple and Android devices, authorities said.

The post Mt. Rubidoux Hiker Assault Suspect Arrested, Released on Bond appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman “expressed a doubt” that his client, 35-year-old speech pathologist Ivanna Ortiz, was competent to stand trial on charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after she allegedly opened fire on the singer’s Bevelry Crest property on March 8.

But after a brief closed-door hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shannon Cooley did not find there was substantial evidence of Ortiz’s mental “incompetence” and ordered criminal proceedings to continue.

A spokeswoman for the public defender’s office declined to comment outside the courtroom, noting Cooley had sealed any discussion of Ortiz’s mental health. Dillman did not offer specifics about his concerns during the portions of the hearing open to the public.

Prosecutors say the shots fired by Ortiz struck Rihanna’s home, a neighbor’s residence and an Airstream parked on the grounds. No one was hit, but Rihanna and her husband — hip-hop and actor ASAP Rocky — were inside the Airstream at the time it was shot.

Ortiz has pleaded not guilty.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ortiz sought to have Dillman fired as her attorney during a closed-door hearing before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shannon Cooley, who presumably blocked that attempt as Dillman was still representing Ortiz late Wednesday morning.

Ortiz continued to bicker with Dillman later in the day when he tried to schedule a future hearing in the case for July, demanding he “do it sooner.”

After Dillman expressed concern about his client’s mental health, Cooley cleared the courtroom so she could question the attorney for evidence of Ortiz’s purported mental illness. Typically, when a defense attorney raises questions about their client’s mental fitness, judges refer such cases to the mental health court in Hollywood. L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Alexander Bott, who is prosecuting the case, said he had never seen anything like what happened on Wednesday.

On the day of the shooting, Rihanna said Rocky was sleeping when she “suddenly heard approximately ten loud sounds like something banging on metal,” according to a police report made public in a court filing in late March.

When the shooting stopped, she grabbed Rocky “out of bed, told him they were being shot at and pushed both of them to the ground,” according to the police report. The couple then ran to their house to check on their children, the police report said.

Ortiz had made a number of disparaging posts about Rihanna on social media in the weeks leading up to the shooting.

When police arrested her in Sherman Oaks an hour after the shooting, Ortiz was carrying a black Springfield Armory rifle and two 30-round rifle magazines, according to the police report. She legally owned the firearm, according to court records.

While Ortiz declined to answer specific questions from police after her arrest, she did make a brief statement to investigators.

“Can I say one sentence?” she asked, according to the report. “I would like to say that I wasn’t attempting murder. But that’s all I wanted to say.”

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    The operation, known as “Operation Volcano,” was carried out between March 2025 and March 2026 through a coordinated effort involving multiple law enforcement agencies throughout the county. Investigators focused on identifying high-risk offenders and disrupting online exploitation networks operating within the region.

    Authorities said more than 500 unique Internet Protocol addresses were linked to the suspected distribution of child pornography during the investigation. Each case was reviewed using what officials described as a structured screening process designed to prioritize suspects considered most dangerous. That included individuals with prior sex crime convictions, people already under criminal justice supervision, and those employed in positions involving children or public trust.

    During the operation, investigators served 46 search warrants at homes throughout Riverside County. Those searches ultimately resulted in 42 arrests involving residents from communities including Banning, Beaumont, Bermuda Dunes, Corona, Eastvale, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Palm Springs, Perris, Riverside, San Jacinto, Temecula and Winchester.

    According to the District Attorney’s Office, 14 of the individuals arrested were considered high-risk offenders. Officials said those suspects included a person wanted on a $2 million warrant related to child sexual assault, along with professionals working in a variety of fields, including healthcare, government, technology and education-related services.

    Among those identified by prosecutors were a child psychologist, a naturopathic doctor, a retired law enforcement employee, a California prison information technology worker, a local government planning director, a Southern California hospital chief technology officer, a notary public, a United States Postal Service employee, two corporate vice presidents and three registered sex offenders.

    Authorities released the names and cities of residence for many of the suspects arrested during the operation. Arrest dates and custody status for several individuals were not immediately available.

    The individuals identified by the District Attorney’s Office include: Feliciano Chavarria, 62, Lake Elsinore; Enrique Castaneda, 51, Riverside; Eric Thai, 43, Menifee; James Munson, 32, San Jacinto; William Zahn, 48, Riverside; John Carrico, 52, Murrieta; Jason Lee, 51, Banning; Brian Erwin, 46, Beaumont; Daniel Malcolm, 46, Bermuda Dunes; Randolph Velasco, 44, Lake Elsinore; Marcus Guevara, 21, Winchester; Christopher Gibbons, 39, Moreno Valley; Allen Cox, 81, Menifee; David Poggi, 59, Menifee; Zixiang Cheng, 32, Murrieta; Ray Kubal, 75, Menifee; Ethan Conely, 29, Menifee; Jessie Bonales, 40, Temecula; Nicholas Williams, 39, Norco; Daniel Cunningham, 43, Corona; Adam Robinson, 38, Riverside; Kenneth Camron, 68, Menifee; Neftali Jimenez, 21, Riverside; Robert Schaar, 53, Temecula; Victor Sepulveda, 60, Moreno Valley; Stuart Triplett, 61, Temecula; Jame Davis, 60, Lake Elsinore; Xinyi Su, 22, Mira Loma; Mark Tyler, 66, Perris; Rickson Jao, 62, Eastvale; Stacey Parker, 62, Moreno Valley; Chas Rico, 30, Murrieta; Jonathan Jordan, 27, Moreno Valley; Jeremiah Davis, 21, Hemet; Dustin Jenks, 56, Palm Springs; Richard Mckeehan Jr., 48, Moreno Valley; Anthony Ramirez, 39, Nuevo; and Daniel Chico, 21, Riverside.

    All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

    The Riverside County announcement comes just days after San Bernardino County authorities announced the conclusion of a similar operation. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said “Operation Firewall,” a two-week internet crimes enforcement effort, resulted in 101 arrests.

    San Bernardino County officials said charges in that operation included possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, arranging meetings with minors for sexual purposes, sending explicit images to minors, lewd acts involving minors and violations tied to sex offender registration requirements.

    Investigators in San Bernardino County also reported that 16 children were removed from situations involving alleged abuse or exploitation during the operation.

The post 42 Arrested in Riverside County Child Exploitation Investigation appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

According to the Riverside Police Department, a teenage girl was in the area of Market and Sixth streets, near the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, when an unknown man physically assaulted her, possibly inflicting injuries, shortly after 3 a.m. on April 25.

The circumstances were unclear.

Witnesses who were not acquainted with either party called 911, but when patrol officers reached the location, “They learned the parties involved had left the area prior to police contact, and no identifying information was provided,” police Lt. Steve Espinosa said.

“Officers obtained surveillance footage from a nearby business and gathered witness statements,” Espinosa said. “The suspect was identified as an adult male seen in the area at the time of the incident.”

Still-frame video images circulated by investigators did not clearly depict the individual, showing him only as a light-skinned Hispanic or Caucasian man with facial hair and partially bald. His dark-colored tank-top shirt appeared to have been torn open in the picture.

Detectives want to interview the victim, but her identity, too, is a mystery, according to Espinosa.

Her friends and family, or anyone who may have been in the downtown area during the predawn hours of April 25 and who spotted anything unusual in the vicinity of where the attack occurred, was asked to come forward.

Espinosa can be reached at 951-826-5959. Alternately, police dispatch is available at 951-354-2007.

The post Police Searching For Victim, Assailant In RivCo Attack appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

    The lawsuit was announced Tuesday as Renteria faces multiple felony charges tied to separate alleged assaults involving three women. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Renteria was rearrested Friday and is now facing 12 felony counts that include kidnapping, forcible rape and assault.

    Investigators allege the incidents occurred during 2025 while Renteria was employed as a firefighter with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department. Authorities said the criminal investigation remains active and additional victims may still come forward.

    According to the civil complaint, one alleged victim claims she was assaulted over a period of roughly six hours beginning the night of Nov. 6 and continuing into the early morning hours of Nov. 7, 2025. The lawsuit alleges the woman was brought to Fire Station 96 on Glen Oaks Road in Temecula, where the attacks allegedly took place.

    Court filings state the woman was allegedly taken to a shed located behind the station and repeatedly assaulted. The complaint further alleges she was later brought inside the station, photographed while unclothed and threatened when she asked to return home to her children.

    According to the lawsuit, the woman was ultimately released around 5 a.m. on Nov. 7 after several hours of alleged abuse.

    The complaint states the woman reported the alleged incident shortly afterward to a retired firefighter friend, who then contacted law enforcement authorities. An official investigation involving the sheriff’s department reportedly began in January 2026.

    Renteria was placed on leave by CAL FIRE after the agency became aware of the allegations, according to previous statements released by the department. He was later arrested in April on multiple felony charges connected to sexual assault allegations before being released on bond. Authorities said Friday’s rearrest involved additional accusations tied to other victims.

    Attorney David Ring, who represents one of the accusers, criticized the alleged conduct and questioned how the incidents were allowed to occur.

    “This is shocking behavior, particularly from a firefighter on duty — someone who is hired to protect our communities,” Ring said in a statement. “Renteria must be held accountable, and CAL FIRE must answer for how this was allowed to happen.”

    The lawsuit claims CAL FIRE and the State of California were negligent in hiring, supervising and retaining Renteria as an employee. Attorneys representing the plaintiff argue the agency failed to act quickly enough after allegations were first reported.

    In an earlier statement, CAL FIRE said Renteria had been served with administrative leave paperwork and had not returned to work after the department learned of the allegations on Jan. 4, 2026.

    “CAL FIRE demands its employees uphold standards of professional conduct both on- and off-duty,” the agency previously stated.

    Another attorney representing the plaintiff, Neil Gehlawat, said the allegations outlined in the lawsuit suggest the possibility of additional victims.

    “The severity and what appear to be deliberate preparations for our client’s horrific assault lead us to believe this is not an isolated incident,” Gehlawat said. “If there are additional victims or witnesses, we encourage them to contact our office so these actions can be fully investigated.”

    The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has also indicated there may be additional victims connected to the investigation. Officials are encouraging anyone with information involving Renteria or possible related incidents to contact Investigator Joe Riddle at 951-955-1700 or through the department’s tip lines.

The post Woman Suing CAL FIRE Over Alleged Assault by Temecula Firefighter appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

She had spent three daystelling a jury that the ex-movie mogul raped her, explaining why she continued a relationship with him afterward and discussing other deeply personal aspects of her life, once sobbing so hard that court ended early. Weinstein had then been convicted, in a 2020 verdict seen as a victory for the #MeToo campaign against sexual misconduct.

Yet six years later, Mann again walked to a witness stand, passing Weinstein in court on Monday, and beginning — for a third time — to give a jury her account of what happened between them.

Mann testified that she met Weinstein at an acquaintance’s engagement party around the beginning of 2013. She said he was wearing a tuxedo and “looked very jolly, so I went up and introduced myself to him.”

Mann was living in Los Angeles and trying to break into acting, she said. Later that evening, she said, she ran into Weinstein again. She testified that he boasted about his moviemaking prowess and his ability to spot talent.

“He said I was really pretty, prettier than Natalie Portman,” Mann testified, echoing her prior testimony. She added that she ended up giving Weinstein her phone number, thinking she’d make a professional — not romantic — connection.

“He was interested in my look. I thought I just got discovered,” she said.

Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone. He watched from his wheelchair at the defense table as Mann testified, occasionally leaning over to talk with his lawyer. Mann only looked at Weinstein when asked to point him out in the courtroom.

Mann’s allegation of a 2013 rape in a Manhattan hotel is again up for consideration because of a series of legal switchbacks. First, Weinstein’s 2020 conviction was overturned for reasons unrelated to her testimony. Then a jury failed to decide her part of a retrial that involved multiple accusers and allegations last year, leaving only her rape charge to be tried again.

“I am ready, willing and able to endure this as many times as it takes for justice and accountability to be served,” Mann said in a statement at the time.

That determination now stands to be tested.

Mann could face days of questioning by prosecutors and Weinstein’s new lawyers. Like their predecessors, they have portrayed Mann as a canny wannabe who got involved with a Hollywood heavy-hitter, had entirely consensual sex with him, enjoyed his connections and invitations, then turned on him after news reports about other women’s claims about Weinstein. The 2017 reporting catalyzed the #MeToo movement.

Mann, 40, grew up in a small town in Washington state and trained as a hairstylist, but she yearned to pursue acting and moved to Los Angeles in her 20s. She was sometimes so broke that she lived in her car, but she had done some commercial and film work before she met Weinstein.

Thrilled that the Oscar-winning producer expressed interest in her career, Mann accepted invitations to get together, starting with a shopping trip for books about cinema, she testified. Within a couple months, she has said, Weinstein started making sexual overtures that she didn’t invite but accepted.

She has said she embarked, with jumbled feelings, on a relationship with the then-married mogul. Sometimes she appreciated his encouragement, other times she resented his sexual demands, and she was always cognizant of his career-making power.

In March 2013, Mann and a friend traveled to New York, and she arranged to meet Weinstein for breakfast with her pals. She testified at prior trials that he got her alone in a hotel room, slammed the door shut when she tried to leave and ultimately raped her, though she told him “I don’t want to do this” and “no.”

Afterward, Mann kept seeing and having what she has said were largely consensual sexual encounters with Weinstein. At points over the next roughly four years, she emailed him “miss you,” “there is no one else I would enjoy catching up with that understands me quite like you” and “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.”

Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that the messages show there was nothing but a caring relationship. Mann has said she was trying to manage a complicated dynamic with a volatile man.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be named, as Mann has done.

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