Angel Baby Cruz of Riverside was arrested last year following a California Highway Patrol investigation into the deadly wreck.

At the end of a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst found there was sufficient evidence to bound Cruz over for trial on the murder count, along with a sentence-enhancing allegation of committing a felony offense while on bail.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for May 27 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Cruz remains held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to the CHP, shortly before 5 a.m. April 26, 2025, the defendant was at the wheel of a Mercedes 300 going westbound on the 60 when the sedan went out of control and slammed into the center divider wall between La Rue Street and Rubidoux Boulevard.

“The vehicle then went across all lanes and struck a tree,” Officer Javier Navarro said. “The vehicle became fully engulfed by fire.”

Good Samaritans stopped and went to help Cruz and his front-seat passenger, a young man identified in court documents only as “D.G.”

Navarro said they managed to pull Cruz to safety but couldn’t get to the victim, who was unconscious, before the Mercedes was consumed by the blaze.

“After the Riverside County Fire Department put out the flames, the body was located in the front seat,” the CHP spokesman said.

No one else had been in the car. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Cruz underwent treatment at a Riverside hospital for unspecified minor injuries, at which point he was also determined to be intoxicated, Navarro alleged.

The defendant was formally taken into custody without incident. After a brief hospitalization, he was cleared for booking into the downtown Riverside jail.

Cruz has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. There were no details available concerning the circumstances of his prior arrest, or how long he had been on bond leading up to the fatal crash.

The post Trial Ordered For 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Murder In Jurupa Valley DUI Death appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

    The settlement, announced Tuesday, preserves nearly 55 acres of open space surrounding the rare Palmer’s oak in Jurupa Valley while allowing a large-scale residential and commercial development project to continue under revised conditions.

    Under the agreement, the protective buffer surrounding the oak will more than double from 450 feet to 1,000 feet. Conservation groups said the expanded buffer will help reduce impacts from nearby construction and preserve habitat for local wildlife.

    Known as the “Jurupa Oak,” the plant is not a traditional single-trunk tree but a sprawling shrub-like clone estimated to be at least 13,000 years old. Stretching nearly 80 feet across, it is considered the oldest known living plant in California and among the oldest living organisms on Earth.

    Researchers from UC Riverside and UC Davis identified the ancient Palmer’s oak in 2009 while studying vegetation in the hills overlooking what is now Jurupa Valley. Scientists determined the oak is a surviving clone from a much older population that existed during the Pleistocene era, a prehistoric period that ended more than 11,000 years ago.

    Their findings were later published in the research paper titled “A Pleistocene Clone of Palmer’s Oak Persisting in Southern California.”

    Although Palmer’s oak is native to California and not currently listed as endangered, conservationists have long argued that the Jurupa specimen is uniquely important because of its age and rarity.

    “I’m relieved that we can steer development away from an oak that’s so special it can’t be found anywhere else in the world,” said Aruna Prabhala, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Our goal was to minimize risk to the Jurupa Oak, and this agreement accomplishes that while improving wildlife connectivity in the area.”

    The revised agreement also reduces the overall footprint of the development project and creates an opportunity for environmental organizations or California Native American tribes to purchase an additional 54 acres nearby for conservation purposes.

    Additional environmental safeguards included in the agreement call for reduced lighting, protective fencing around the oak and the use of native plants throughout wildlife corridors designed to support animal movement across the region.

    The settlement follows legal action filed against the city of Jurupa Valley by the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Native Plant Society, the Endangered Habitats League and Friends of Riverside’s Hills.

    The lawsuit challenged the city’s approval of a major development project that included plans for more than 1,500 homes, commercial buildings, schools, parks, an equestrian center and light industrial development near the oak.

    Environmental groups argued the project failed to adequately address potential impacts to the ancient oak and surrounding habitat, alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act.

    “Preserving the unique Palmer’s oak and the hillside that has allowed it to survive all these millennia was our primary goal,” said Len Nunney of Friends of Riverside’s Hills. “Adding protected open space and a wildlife corridor connected to hundreds of acres of conserved land will help preserve a viable ecosystem in the area.”

    As part of the agreement, the environmental organizations agreed not to pursue additional legal challenges against the revised development proposal.

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In a 4-0 vote without comment — during which Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez was absent — on Tuesday, the board signed off on the district’s plan to augment outlays for the “Heli-Hydrant Fire Protection System Phase 2 Project” from $513,000 to a total $754,000.

According to documents posted to the board’s agenda, following solicitation of bids from contractors to complete the work, the “total cost of the project increased beyond the amount originally contemplated.”

The Flood Control & Water Conservation District partnered with the Jurupa Community Services District in 2024 to initiate the protection system project, which will rely on water supplies managed by JCSD to feed open water tanks containing up to 10,000 gallons each.

“This will provide supplemental water resources for Cal Fire (rotor craft) during wildfire response in fire-prone areas … in Riverside County,” according to Flood Control & Water Conservation District documents.

JCSD personnel will be responsible for maintaining the tanks after they’re constructed.

The sites designated for the new supply systems are at the intersection of Bain Street and Limonite Avenue, along the north side of the Santa Ana River bottom in Jurupa Valley; near Citrus Street and Hamner Avenue in Eastvale; and just east of the Oak Quarry Golf Club, near McLaren Lane and Sandra Drive, at the northern edge of Jurupa Valley.

There was no indication of when the projects may be completed.

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Brian Waterman was arrested early evening on Thursday by the Jurupa Valley Police Department and was being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center, the sheriff’s office said.

On Friday, Waterman began experiencing a medical emergency inside the holding cell he was in at the jail, and custody staff and jail medical personnel administered aid, the agency said.

A day later, on April 25, his condition continued to decline, and he was pronounced dead at a hospital, the sheriff’s office said.

The agency did not say what medical emergency he experienced or what led to his arrest. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Corrections Central Investigation Bureau and the county coroner are investigating, but the sheriff’s office said there were no signs of foul play.

Sgt. Robert Martinez, a public information officer with the sheriff’s office, declined to provide additional information about Waterman’s death or why he was in custody.

It marks the department’s second in-custody death this month. On April 3, the sheriff’s office announced the in-custody death of a Las Vegas resident, Maurice Landon Williamson, 35, who was transferred to a hospital for an existing diagnosed illness. Williamson was being treated and placed on supportive care, but he ultimately died, the agency said.

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The chase began shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday at an unspecified location in the Riverside metropolitan area and traversed both the Pomona (60) Freeway and Interstate 15, according to published reports.

the motorist was believed to be armed when sheriff’s deputies tried to stop him

A California Highway Patrol Inland Division spokesperson told City News Service the motorist was believed to be armed when sheriff’s deputies tried to stop him, but no other details were immediately available, including the initial reason for the pursuit.

Over the course of an hour, the suspect attempted to evade patrol deputies, eventually exiting I-15 onto Bellegrave Avenue and heading eastbound. As the vehicle approached Wineville Avenue, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department SUV deployed a “grappler bumper” device, composed of nylon and other materials, pushing the unit under the white four-door sedan and causing the driver to lose control.

Images captured by ABC7 indicated the car plowed through a retaining wall protecting the side of a single-story house, causing major damage to the vehicle and ending the chase.

No one in the house was hurt.

CHP officers were initially requested to assist with K-9 units, but they were later canceled, according to the agency.

Deputies deployed around the vehicle, establishing a close perimeter, relying on an armored vehicle for protection in the ensuing standoff.

As of 4 p.m., there was no word on the condition of the suspect.

No deputies were injured.

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“The existing Mission Boulevard Bridge was identified as seismically deficient, no longer meeting current safety standards,” according to a Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency statement. “The structure will be fully replaced with a modern 1,100-foot bridge, featuring two traffic lanes in each direction, added shoulders and a raised center median to improve overall safety for drivers.”

The current span, which crosses the Santa Ana River, has been in place since 1958, though the original bridgework foundation was established in the early 1920s, undergoing major modifications between then and the late 1950s due to storm-related impacts.

TLMA is supervising the project, but both the cities of Riverside and Jurupa Valley are invested in it.

Officials said demolition and reconstruction will occur in stages, impacting travel between Crestmore Road on the Jurupa Valley side and Mt. Rudidoux Drive at the Riverside city limits. The first stage will start Monday, when contractors initiate the process of removing the center median, requiring two of four lanes to be shut down all next week.

The following week, a long-term traffic shift will be implemented, with one lane available going into Jurupa Valley and both eastbound lanes open going into Riverside, according to TLMA. Those lane closures will result in slower traffic along the span daily.

The bridge is already a traffic chokepoint during various parts of the day, particularly early weekday mornings and late afternoons.

“Motorists are encouraged to allow extra travel time and follow posted signage in the work zone,” TLMA stated, adding that no “long-term full closures of Mission Boulevard are planned.”

The next stage of the project is anticipated in the spring of 2028, when a second significant traffic shift is planned, though specific details have not been announced.

Completion of the new span is expected in the latter half of 2029.

Funding for the project budget includes direct allocations from Jurupa Valley and Riverside, as well as California Proposition 1B grants and Federal Highway Bridge Program infusions, according to TLMA.

Additional information about the overall project, lane closures, planned detours and timelines can be found at missionblvdbridge.com/.

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Several thousand spectators are expected for the daylong event.

“During this special veterans ceremony … we recognize and celebrate our nation’s heroes,” according to an airport statement.

The event will begin with a group skydiving exhibition directly over the airfield, followed by an Honor Guard ceremony and parade saluting members of the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present, officials said. The UC Riverside Pipe & Drum Band will play patriotic themes during the ceremony.

There will be military re-enactors, who will convert the tarmac into a display of historic images. A vintage biplane will be used for ticketed airplane rides around the Riverside metropolitan area, giving passengers an open-air cockpit tour of Jurupa Valley and its environs, providing an intimate feel for what it was like to fly in the first decade of fixed-wing aviation, organizers said.

A petting zoo, displays of past military hardware, raffles, a beer garden, an antique car show and a range of kids’ games will be part of the fare, with musical entertainment provided by jazz, rock and new wave bands.

Food vendors will be available, as well as personnel from local agencies offering assistance to veterans seeking to apply for various services, according to the airport.

Festivities are slated to wrap up about 4 p.m.

Additional information is available at https://www.flabobairport.org/veteranscelebration.

Flabob Airport is located at 4130 Mennes Ave. #24 in Jurupa Valley.

The post Flabob Airport’s 2025 ‘Salute to Veterans Celebration’ Set For Nov. 8 appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Deputies responded to a report of an accident in the area of Riverview Drive and Rios Road shortly after 8:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the victim was withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Authorities said it was not yet known whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.

Riverview Drive was temporarily closed between Rios Road and Peralta Avenue for the investigation, sheriff’s officials said.

Anyone with information about the crash was asked to contact Deputy Armenta of the Jurupa Valley station at 951-955-2600.

The post RivCo Driver Strikes Tree, Dies At Scene appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

All evacuation warnings for the Clay Fire were lifted, and residents were told they could return home, but to be advised that firefighters would remain in the area much of the day.

At 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, the blaze ignited in the Santa Ana Riverbed, according to Cal Fire. The blaze burned toward homes, driven by offshore winds gusting through the Jurupa Valley area. Overnight, fire crews gained more traction in containing the blaze known as the Clay Fire.

Multiple engine and ladder crews from the Riverside County and Riverside fire departments were sent to the location. Firefighters found flames burning toward a residential area along Bradford Street as winds weakened, they said.

A third alarm was declared as the fire moved closer to the Bradford homes a short time later, and the neighborhood was briefly placed under an evacuation warning.

Dozer and hand crews worked overnight to build containment lines and conduct mop-up operations, fire officials said. Cal Fire officials said 23 engines and eight hand crews would continue their work at the location Wednesday.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known. However, the river bottom is rife with homeless encampments.

The post Jurupa Valley Brush Fire Near Riverside Now 40 Percent Contained appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

It’s a small oak shrub, nestled in the hills over Jurupa Valley.

Known as the Jurupa Oak, or Palmer’s Oak, it’s not very big, and resembles a shrub more than it does a tree. It’s only about six feet tall, spreading out about 70 feet from end to end.

Scientists believe the oak is between 13,000 and 18,000 years old.

“The main thing that strikes me is that we’re literally looking at a bit of what the world was like in the ice age,” scientist Andrew Sanders of UC Riverside said in an interview with Eyewitness News back in 2009.

“We don’t have to look at a fossil in this case; we can see the living individuals,” he added.

But while the old tree has survived thousands of years, with a warming climate as well as larger and more devastating wildfires, some environmentalists say the biggest threat to the oak is a 900-acre development currently being considered by the Jurupa Valley planning commission.

Known as the Rio Vista Specific Plan, it would permit more than 1,600 new housing units, 1.3 million square feet of light industrial use and 1.4 million square feet of business park use. It would also include more than 500 acres of open space, a park and public school.

But Aaron Echols, the conservation chairperson at the Riverside-San Bernardino chapter of the California Native Plant Society, says not only is there concern about what development might do to the root structure of the oak if it encroaches upon the hill where the tree is located, but just by developing the surrounding area it could have potential consequences.

“These are all native plants, and they have green leaves and are photosynthesizing. They’re keeping the immediate local climate somewhat controlled,” Echols said. “The moment you replace all that with asphalt and concrete, you’re definitely going to get some heat island effects and that could be enough.

“This is speculation, but that could be enough to push this plant to its edge.”

At a recent meeting of the planning commission, an environmental impact report was presented, addressing many of the concerns. One of the areas of concern noted in the report are the effects of the vibrations caused by heavy machinery operating in the area.

“They determined that if you’re at least 259 feet away from the tree with that machinery, you’re not going to harm it,” said biologist Michael Tuma with First Carbon Solutions, which conducted the environmental impact report.

“The vibrations aren’t going to do anything to compromise the bedrock underneath and above the tree.”

Many residents spoke against the potential project at the meeting, which lasted more than five hours.

“The EIR is inadequate, misleading and erodes the public’s trust in government,” said one resident of the area while addressing the commission.

The planning commission delayed its vote on whether to approve the project to another meeting later this month. If approved, it would ultimately be up to the city council to give the project a green light.

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