Brie Byrd said she was battered and bruised on a daily basis while growing up as a member of an Inland Empire secretive sect called His Way Spirit Led Assemblies. She tells KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade she was often kept locked up and starved.

“Because I was living off of one piece of bread and one glass of water for about two or three months, I was like 90 pounds and skin and bones,” she remembered. “I was sitting in my own like period pad for that long – just one pad.”

After years of torture, Byrd said she finally escaped at the age of 15. She told KTLA her captors were the heads of the ministry, including its two main leaders, Pastor Darryl “Muzic” Marin and Shelly “Kat” Martin, who calls herself a prophetess.

She said the Martins run the religious group like a cult.

Law enforcement began investigating the group when a former longtime member, Emilio Ghanem, went missing in May of 2023, just days after parting ways with the ministry.

The group’s leaders and three other members have now been charged with the murder of Ghanem and the 2010 murder of 4-year-old Timothy Thomas.

“I hope that they pay for the rest of their life for what they’ve done to me and what they did to anyone else,” Byrd said.

She said the ministry robbed her of her childhood and her innocence. “I was raped by somebody. He was 18 at the time, and that happened from when I was 10 until I was 13.” 

Byrd said she told Prophetess Kat about the sexual abuse. “She punched, like punched me in my face and I got called a liar.”

She also said that children were often separated from their parents and raised by church elders.

The group had several homes in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, with many members living together under one roof. Byrd said every time she tried to run away, she would be locked up in a room and severely punished.

“They would just come in there and beat me with a belt. I had a blindfold on, and then, at one point, they’d switch positions and have me lying down flat and my leg handcuffed to the bed and still continue beating me, had people come in and said horrible, horrible things to me, spit in my face.”

She wasn’t allowed to watch TV or look at boys, and her hair was cut short as punishment. Byrd said her church services sometimes went all night long, with Prophetess Kat viewed as God on Earth.

“Saying, ‘God is speaking through me.’ She would worship and do all these dances and stuff. It was weird.” Former member Clarissa Hernandez recalled how Kat would act when claiming God was speaking through her. “She’d go and like, start talking, like seizing, and then start talking in this weird accent.”

Members were taught that Kat could perform miracles. “She would say that she could impregnate women who couldn’t be pregnant. She could heal the blind,” Clarissa recalled.

Clarissa also remembered years of abuse, especially for those who didn’t follow the group’s pressure to conform. “You would be either yelled at, you would be hit, you would be starved.”

She said she was forced to pray for hours on end in pitch-black rooms and claimed members were brainwashed into having unquestionable devotion. “The leaders didn’t want you to have contact with outsiders. They would not have me talk to outside people, anybody not from the church, including my family.”

Hernandez said young girls were forced to marry much older men. “They would always justify it, saying well, ‘This is what God told us.’”

Members would train and prep for the end of the world and were told by Prophetess Kat that if they followed the rules, they would be saved when the end comes. 

“She would say, ‘Oh, God’s going to take me, and anybody that has obeyed me and obeyed Him will go with me,’” Byrd recalled.

A former member who was too afraid to be identified said members had to turn over all the money they made at the pest control company the group runs to the Martins.

“Nobody had income. They were allowed, like, an allowance, so the pastors got everything,” the former member said.

He believes the church leaders went after Ghanem when he tried to start a competing pest control company after he severed ties with the religious organization.

“They didn’t like the fact that Emilio was going to take back his customers, which means the ministry wouldn’t have, or the pastors, Pastor Muzic and Prophetess Kat, wouldn’t have their money,” the member said.

The last time he saw Ghanem alive was at a Redlands Starbucks. Ghanem was on his way to meet with one of his now suspected killers, Rudy Moreno.

He warned Ghanem not to go ans saud that Moreno couldn’t be trusted. “He was lying to Emilio, saying he was going to, wanted to leave the Ministry. He wanted to get out and wanted Emilio’s help.” 

The Martins are also facing murder charges for the 2010 death of 4-year-old Timothy Thomas, who was in their care at the time. The boy’s father has also been charged with his son’s murder.

“I saw like, where his appendix erupted, and all the stuff on the floor,” Byrd remembers.

Byrd lived in the same Colton house as Thomas when she said the church leaders wouldn’t allow the young boy to get medical treatment as he was suffering from appendicitis.  

“I do remember him saying his stomach hurt, and they wouldn’t take him to the doctor. They were like, ‘No, God will heal him,’” Byrd said.

Detectives suspected neglect played a role in his death and expressed concern that the boy was living in cult-like conditions. It was reportedly hard to prosecute the case back then because members weren’t forthcoming. Many have since left the group and have now come forward to authorities.

As for Hernandez and Byrd, they have their own children now and are grateful their kids’ lives are filled with happiness — unlike the intense pain they endured while growing up.

“When I come home from work and to see them go to bed happy, it just makes me happy,” Byrd said tearfully. “So happy that they don’t have to go through what I did.”

The post Former members of cult-like group in California detail years of torture, starvation and alleged murder appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The Best in the West title recognizes the creative communication efforts of PRSA members from 11 different chapters across five states and is voted on by an independent panel of judges each year.

IEHP’s multi-channel mental health campaign, developed in partnership with Meehan Business Advisers, featured 2024 “American Idol” winner and Inland Empire native Abi Carter and also earned Best in Show by PRSA’s Los Angeles chapter last fall.

IEHP maximized Carter’s passion for mental health awareness through a video public service announcement, a headline act at Palm Springs Unified School District’s Kidchella music festival, viral social media videos, and a graduation speech and musical performance for Palm Springs High School.

“This initiative was more than a campaign—it was a movement,” said IEHP Chief Communications & Marketing Officer Michelle Rai. “Engaging with a talented, local musician like Abi Carter, who was an IEHP member as a child, brought this full circle for us. We wanted our community to know they can get help and not suffer in silence.”

Meehan Business Advisers’ President, Andrew Meehan, agreed.

“Partnering with IEHP on this campaign has been a powerful journey in spreading hope and mental health awareness to area youth,” he said. “We are deeply humbled to have brought the campaign to life and are so grateful for the appreciation it has generated among the PRSA community.”

In addition to the Best in the West distinction, the campaign has received five other PRSA awards:

• PRism: Best in Show – PRSA-LA (October 2025)
• PRism: Health Care Media Relations – PRSA-LA (October 2025)
• PRism: Branded Content – PRSA-LA (October 2025)
• PRism: Influencer Marketing – PRSA-LA (October 2025)
• Capella: Campaigns – Public Relations – PRSA-IE (November 2025)

PRSA is the nation’s largest professional public relations association with more than 30,000 members representing 400 chapters across the country and connects PR professionals to training and networking opportunities year-round.

To view a list of past Best in the West recipients or to learn more about PRSA’s Western District, visit www.prsawesterndistrict.org.

For resources on how to “Start the Conversation” with your loved ones, visit www.iehp.org/mentalhealth. There, visitors can download tip sheets on how to ask for help or ways to reach out to a young adult in crisis.

The post Inland Empire Health Plan earns Best in the West Award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

“We also uphold that conservation cannot be successful without engaging people from all communities as ambassadors, advocates, and leaders,” said Belle Macatubal, Assistant Conservation Social Scientist for the Living Desert.

The Living Desert began partnering with the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Tribe and Outward Bound Adventures in 2022 to create future conservationists among its youth. The program titled ‘Torres Martinez Youth Environmental Ambassadors’ (TM-YEA) aims to reconnect Torres Martinez youth with their ancestral land and introduce them to various conservation topics.

TM-YEA has served dozens of youth aged 12-22 over the past three years. Youth have participated in day trips and overnight camping trips, as well as cultural and conservation workshops that combine Traditional Ecological Knowledge with western science. The program is helping to create the next generation of environmental stewards.

Due to the positive implications so far, Macatubal and fellow Assistant Conservation Social Scientist Alena Lonetree are expanding the program for Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians youth. On Jan. 12, they held a focus group at the Soboba Reservation to gauge interest and explain their future plans.

Questions about accessible nature spaces and interest in spending time in nature were asked during the one-hour meeting at the Soboba Sports Complex. Participants were asked to share an important memory of taking part in an activity in nature with loved ones and why it was special.

Noyaaykit Silvas, 13, is a member of Soboba Youth Council and provided details of her current conservation involvement in her community. She recalled going up to the mountains with family and cousins as an activity she enjoyed.

Shania Guacheno, 14, shared her personal nature experiences as well as those she has experienced through her involvement with Soboba Tribal TANF. She recalled the time she was out with her uncle and papa and they encountered a rattlesnake.

The Oaks was singled out as a place they would go if they wanted to spend time in nature on the Soboba Reservation. When asked what they do in their daily lives to address environmental problems, both said they recycle whenever possible and make sure lights are turned off when leaving the room. They said they are motivated to make environmentally conscious decisions because they want to keep things clean, allowing everyone to have a positive opinion about their reservation.

When asked why they feel Native voices, particularly Native youth voices, are important in making environmental changes Shania said, “Because of our history with nature in general to preserve but back then others didn’t have the confidence to speak up.”

Lonetree explained the definition of cultural ecological knowledge as being the deep place-based understanding, practices, and beliefs Indigenous Peoples develop over generations about their local ecosystems, including relationships between people, plants, animals, and landscapes, offering sustainable stewardship for conservation and resource management. It’s holistic, interwoven with culture and spirituality, and provides vital, long-term observations for adapting to environmental change. She then asked how important it was for youth to learn about this and why.

Noyaaykit said it is important so the youth can continue on the right path and make sure everything stays healthy. Shania agreed and said one day people will just forget everything about their culture if it’s not carried on through generations.

When asked what are some of the skills they would want to learn to feel more comfortable with spending time in nature, Shania said, “I’d like the ability to build shelter and provide for myself. I would also like to learn what’s not poisonous.”

Macatubal explained more about the Torres Martinez Youth Environmental Ambassadors program saying they participate in camping, hiking, and workshop opportunities. Lonetree shared that they do many local cultural events, such as sage harvesting and basket weaving.

Shania said she would like to see Native language incorporated into the program and Noyaaykit said she would like to have visits to history museums included to learn more.

TM-YEA consistently meets at least twice a month, and hopes are that a similar program at Soboba will be just as popular. Soboba Youth Council advisor Evelyn Helms looks forward to getting more youth involved in the next meeting with The Living Desert staff.

The program brings together multiple agencies to guide local youth in meaningfully interacting with the local environment, empower them as both stewards of the environment and of their personal well-being, and instill them with experiential capital to better prepare them for success in future careers.

Similarly, although conservation has a long history of not representing the full diversity of the communities around where projects tend to be based, The Living Desert is working to diversify the field of conservation. They strongly feel that reciprocal learning must be a core part of all conservation projects as it leads to more successful conservation projects that are supported by local communities and are thus more sustainable.

Soboba youth are invited to join the Native American Youth Environmental Ambassadors to connect with the natural world, learn about different conservation topics, go on exciting field trips, and develop leadership skills. For Native youth ages 12-22 wanting to make a change in their community, email imacatubal@livingdesert.org or call/text 909-583-4176 for more information. For general information, please visit www.livingdesert.org/conservation.

The post The Living Desert seeks to recruit Soboba youth appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

And Inland Empire Girl Scouts are ready.

They picked up boxes to sell during Mega Drop events across the region on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Hundreds of volunteers gathered at four sites — in Riverside, Lake Elsinore, Apple Valley and Palm Desert — to sort and distribute more than a million boxes of cookies, a news release states.

The Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council hosts the event each year to launch the cookie sales season.

Across the Inland Empire, 326 troops signed up to sell nearly 900,000 packets of cookies — nearly 73,000 cases, according to the council.

The sales helps girls learn entrepreneurial skills, how to manage money and business ethics, the release states.

For information on buying Girl Scout Cookies, click here.

The post Girl Scouts start another year of cookie sales in the Inland Empire appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Maersk said that locating the hub in Fontana “accelerates turnaround times by up to five hours and expands customer options through the Ontario corridor, just 2.5 hours inland, complementing LAX for greater flexibility.”

The Fontana facility complements Maersk’s existing Ground Freight stations in Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO), San Diego (SAN) and Los Angeles (LAX), strengthening the company’s network across California.

“Convenient access to Interstates 10 and 15, proximity to Ontario International Airport (ONT), and rail connections, combined with its Inland Empire location, make Fontana a strategic hub for efficient, scalable logistics solutions,” Maersk added.

The Inland Empire, encompassing Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario, is the nation’s largest warehouse and logistics region, with more than 1.1 billion sqft (102m sqm) of industrial space. Situated 80km east of Los Angeles, it serves as the primary distribution centre for Southern California and acts as the “next closest place” for freight storage after leaving the LA/Long Beach port terminals.

The area has shifted from agriculture to a logistics powerhouse, driven by e-commerce, with major hubs in Ontario, Moreno Valley and Fontana. It now hosts a rapidly expanding footprint of warehouses, third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and industrial parks.

The post Maersk expands US network with Inland Empire hub appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

“Every student who participated in this year’s Riverside County Academic Decathlon is a powerful example of academic excellence and focused collaboration,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. “Congratulations to the Beaumont High School team as they prepare to proudly represent Riverside County at the California Academic Decathlon in March.”

This year’s Academic Decathlon theme was “The Roaring Twenties,” and competiton wrapped up Saturday at the Riverside County Office of Education Conference Center in downtown Riverside. Like its ancient Greek counterpart, the Academic Decathlon is a 10-event contest. Participants demonstrate their academic strength by completing seven written tests, writing an essay, delivering prepared and impromptu speeches, and participating in an interview.

Competition started virtually with essay writing and objective tests on Jan. 14. All teams then participated in the speech and interview competition and Super Quiz on Saturday, Jan. 31.

Students from nine Riverside County high schools (see below) competed in the event organized by the Riverside County Office of Education:

• Beaumont High School (two teams) — Beaumont Unified School District
• Corona High School — Corona-Norco Unified School District
• Western Center Academy (two teams) — Hemet Unified School District
• Elsinore High School — Lake Elsinore Unified School District
• Canyon Springs High School — Moreno Valley Unified School District
• Valley View High School — Moreno Valley USD
• Vista del Lago High School — Moreno Valley USD
• Heritage High School — Perris Union High School District
• Great Oak High School — Temecula Valley Unified School District

Each team was composed of nine students, three from each grade point category, and included three Honor (GPA 3.80 – 4.00), three Scholastic (GPA 3.20 – 3.799), and three Varsity (GPA 0.00 – 3.199) students.

Beaumont High School sent two teams, Team A and Team B. Team A won the championship, while Team B finished fifth.

Western Center Academy’s Team A finished second overall after tying with Beaumont High School in the Super Quiz. Great Oak High School finished third. Western Center Academy’s Team B finished fourth.

Due to its big win, Beaumont High School will now represent Riverside County at the California Academic Decathlon on March 20-22, 2026, in Santa Clara. The California state champion advances to the U.S. Academic Decathlon held April 23-25, 2026, in Garden Grove.

The post Great Oak High School Wins 3rd Place In 2026 Riverside County Academic Decathlon appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Since Tuesday, Jan. 27, student-led walkouts to rally against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity were reported in cities including Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Ontario.

About 200 students from Poly High School in Riverside walked out of classes Thursday, Jan. 29. Students were seen moving along Central and Victoria avenues outside the campus, holding signs and collectively chanting “ICE out.”

“Stop pretending your racism is patriotism,” one student’s sign read.

Riverside Unified School District spokesperson Andrew Shortall said students returned to class shortly after 11 a.m.

While students take to the streets to voice their opinions, backers of Trump’s immigration policy say the deportations are needed to remove violent criminals who pose a threat to others and to enforce the nation’s immigration laws.

In Rancho Cucamonga, videos posted to TikTok showed students from Etiwanda, Alta Loma and Rancho Cucamonga high schools protesting on the corner of Foothill and Day Creek boulevards on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Some waved flags, another had a cardboard cutout of Trump.

“Three rival schools protested together,” the TikTok post said.

More protests are planned for Friday, Jan. 30, during a “nationwide shutdown” urging activists not to show up for classes, work, and calling for an end to funding immigration enforcement. Protests have erupted in Minneapolis and nationwide, with many calling for for an end to ICE tactics after the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.

An action guide put together by Somali and Black student organizations in Minneapolis encourages students to walk out Friday “to protest ICE terror in our communities.”

“While Congress is debating giving ICE even more money, it’s time to take our movement to the next level. ICE has kidnapped our neighbors and classmates; they do not make our communities more safe. We demand ICE out for good,” the guide states. “Students are always at the heart of movements for justice across the world.”

A letter from officials in the Coachella Valley Unified School District encourages parents to speak with their children “about making thoughtful and responsible choices during the school day.”

It was unclear if other Inland school districts had sent similar messages to parents and community members.

The post Inland Empire students walk out to protest ICE operations across U.S. appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Earlier this year, Reps. Ruiz and Takano secured an additional $50 million to be included in this bill – raising the total amount allocated to EMWD’s South Perris Desalination Program to $100 million.

“Expanding access to local water resources is essential for the well-being of the communities I serve,” said Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz. “This essential funding allocated to Eastern Municipal Water District is a crucial step forward in the continued expansion of more sustainable water supplies that will be both more reliable and accessible for families and individuals in Hemet, San Jacinto, and the surrounding region.”

“Expanding our water infrastructure is important and necessary for the Inland Empire,” said Congressman Mark Takano. “With a growing population and climate change affecting our water supply, Eastern Municipal Water District needs this critical funding. I am proud to deliver these funds to keep Riverside County growing and safe.”

The post House Passes $100 Million in Water Infrastructure Upgrades for California’s 25th District appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Some cities have banned big rigs from residential neighborhoods and some large commercial avenues.

In Riverside, semitrucks have restrictions on streets like Van Buren and Alessandro boulevards to reduce traffic, noise and air pollution. The city of Fontana, on its website, lays out a map showing with bright blue lines on which streets which trucks may drive; they are banned from the rest. Yorba Linda requires big trucks coming into the city to obtain a city transportation permit and follow a designated truck route, in an effort to regulate oversize/overweight vehicles.

In this column, On the Road shares a different perspective, one we hear less often: a big rig driver.

Longtime Inland Empire resident Timothy Carrick told On the Road how difficult it is to work as a commercial truck driver in the Inland Empire and California, in general. Carrick lived for many years in Fontana and for a year in Jurupa Valley before he recently bought a house near Guadalajara, Mexico. Carrick has driven a large Class A commercial tractor-trailer – the largest of the big rigs – for 17 years. He is retiring next month.

“Fontana, as well as other places in the Inland Empire, has become the truck city of the world,” Carrick said.

Many times while driving his truck for work, Carrick said, he could not find a place to stop for lunch in a restaurant due to the bans on trucks from certain streets and parking lots in Fontana and other communities. This includes a large chunk of Sierra Avenue in Fontana, a main north-south, non-residential thoroughfare.

“There were all these signs where we can’t even park to eat lunch,” Carrick said. He expressed frustration that local governments across the Inland Empire have permitted so many warehouses to be built, but the truck drivers face so many restrictions.

“You put up all these warehouses in this area. And supposedly, you know, people need goods and the truck drivers deliver those goods. But yet you harass the truck driver so much giving tickets and they are like $400. Then why are you putting up all these companies and warehouses? We have to look maybe miles to find somewhere to have lunch. We should have our right to eat lunch somewhere,” he said.

Carrick noted that homeowners are not allowed to park their trucks at their homes, and he agrees with this, but he disagrees with so many truck restrictions on major commercial streets. As a result, he said, big rigs have nowhere to drive but on freeways where they are also unwelcome.

He said, “All we are doing is delivering goods for the people. People don’t complain about the products when they go to the store and buy the products brought there by trucks. You keep putting up more warehouses, so you’re getting more trucks.”

The post Semitruck drivers have a hard time finding parking in the Inland Empire appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.