Jerry Anthony Valdepena Jr., 29, was arrested in 2021 following a years-long investigation that identified him as the second person involved in the 2016 slaying of 26-year-old Jeremy Cooley.

Valdepena is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and a special circumstance allegation of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

The prosecution and defense delivered closing statements in the month- long trial Friday, and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Laura Garcia directed jurors to return to the Riverside Hall of Justice on Monday to start deliberations, which they did.

Valdepena is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility. His co-defendant, Jerry Anthony Chagolla, 34, was convicted in 2019 of charges identical to Valdepena’s and was sentenced in February 2021 to life in prison.

According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Cooley, his wife, identified in court documents only as “N.V.,” her two sons from a previous relationship and the couple’s newborn daughter moved into a rental home in the 400 block of Alessandro Street, near Nicolet Street, in late spring 2016. They discovered days later that a residence across the street was “an active gang” gathering place for the Eastside Banning SAPOs.

The couple encountered hostile gang members, shouting their affiliation and throwing angry looks at the family, according to the prosecution’s trial brief.

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 2016, Chagolla, Valdepena and others were partying, playing loud music and engaging in other activity, according to court papers. Cooley and N.V. decided to step onto their front porch to drink beer and casually observe the defendants and their friends.

N.V. later told Banning Police Department detectives that she stepped into the house to check on the baby, leaving Cooley alone. According to a police statement, during that period, Cooley walked beyond the residence to request that partygoers lower the noise level.

The defendants became incensed, jumping into Cooley’s face and challenging him to fight, which N.V. witnessed as she stepped back outside, according to the brief.

The woman’s then-15-year-old son, identified in court documents only as “Edgar,” was drawn outdoors by the yelling. N.V. attempted to intervene, “telling the two men that they were a family and had small children inside the house,” the brief stated.

She then asserted, “This is not the first time you guys have tried to (gang) bang on us,” prompting Valdepena and Chagolla to direct Cooley to “get your lady in the (expletive) house so we can handle this,” according to the prosecution.

“One of the defendants also said, `You’re going to catch this fade, or you’re going to catch a hot one,’ meaning that Jeremy was going to fight them, or they were going to do something worse to him, like shoot him,” the brief said.

Edgar then stepped off the porch, prompting his mother to direct him back into the house, but before she could finish speaking, Valdepena and Chagolla jumped Cooley, pulling knives on the unarmed victim, prosecutors alleged.

When N.V. tried to help her husband, an unidentified woman ran out of the party house and pulled her to the ground, the brief said. When Edgar tried to get into the fray, Valdepena allegedly turned toward him with a five-inch blade, but tripped on a rut in the grass, falling onto his back. Edgar outweighed the defendant and jumped on him, intending to pin him down to prevent him from aiding Chagolla in the knife assault on Cooley, according to court papers.

However, Valdepena began stabbing and slashing the teenager, inflicting wounds to both his shoulders and across his chest, causing the boy to roll away, the brief alleged.

“Valdepena then joined Chagolla in his attack on Jeremy,” the narrative said.

The victim broke away and stumbled into his home, bleeding profusely, after which the defendants fled, according to the brief.

N.V. was able to go to her husband’s aid, immediately calling 911.

Cooley was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An autopsy revealed 24 stab wounds throughout his body. Edgar was also treated there, receiving 26 staples to close his knife wounds, from which he recovered.

Detectives identified Chagolla as one of the perpetrators 10 months later, culminating in his trial and conviction. Valdepena’s alleged involvement was not confirmed until he was positively identified almost five years later.

Court records show he has a prior conviction for felony evading. Chagolla’s priors were not listed.

The post Jury Deliberates In Banning Murder Trial In 2016 Slaying appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Eric Ochoa Hernandez, 47, of Thermal was arrested last month following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation at Oasis Elementary School on Avenue 74 in Thermal.

Hernandez made his initial court appearance on Feb. 23, when Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker appointed him an attorney and scheduled his formal arraignment for April 2 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

The defendant is free on a $100,000 bond. He’s on administrative leave from the school district.

According to a sheriff’s arrest warrant declaration, in September, deputies were alerted to the possible sexual abuse of a female student, whose identity was not disclosed, on the afternoon of Aug. 29.

The affidavit alleged that while the minor was aboard the CVUSD bus to which Hernandez was assigned and waiting for a ride home, the defendant approached her, dropped his pants and “forced the victim to grab his exposed penis.”

Hernandez, who stands 5 feet, 9 inches and weighs 275 pounds, then compelled the child to make a “stroking motion” before allowing her to remove her hand, court papers alleged.

The victim informed her mother a short time afterward, culminating in forensic interviews during which the girl demonstrated for child welfare agents what had allegedly happened, according to the declaration.

Investigators procured sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant, served on Hernandez without incident at his residence.

By that time, the district had already placed him on administrative leave.

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

The post RivCo Bus Driver Accused Of Molesting Student Due For Arraignment in April appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Carla Sharese Flores allegedly killed 27-year-old Ashley Brito of Thousand Palms at the City Center Motel in 2021.

Flores is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. Her case was transferred last week from the Larson Justice Center in Indio to the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, where there was courtroom availability.

On Wednesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso heard motions from the prosecution and defense regarding evidence, witnesses, jury instructions and scheduling. The judge is set to summon panels of prospective jurors to the Murrieta courthouse Thursday for screening.

Opening statements were expected sometime next week. Flores is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to Indio police, patrol officers went to the motel at 83597 Indio Blvd. on the evening of March 31, 2021, to investigate reports of a woman who had been shot.

Brito was found dead in a room.

Investigators quickly identified Flores as the alleged shooter and obtained a warrant for her arrest. Two days later, El Centro police officers were called to investigate a disturbance at a motel and encountered Flores, who was taken into custody without incident for alleged offenses in Imperial County.

She allegedly gave officers a fake name, but they soon confirmed her identity and learned that she was wanted in Indio, resulting in her being turned over to homicide detectives days later.

A possible motive for the shooting was not disclosed.

Flores has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

If convicted, she’d face a prospective mandatory minimum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison.

The post Trial Proceedings Start For Woman Accused Of Killing RivCo Motel Guest appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 23, of Perris was convicted in September of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two counts of armed robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a loaded gun, in addition to sentence- enhancing gun use allegations.

The Banning jury acquitted him of attempted murder in connection with the March 2024 attack.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz is scheduled to hand down the sentence Friday afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.

Gonzalez is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

His co-defendant, 24-year-old Ethan Michael Morris of Perris, pleaded guilty in 2024 to grand theft under a pretrial agreement negotiated with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Morris. He was sentenced to six years in state prison.

According to Sgt. Chad Thompson of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the pair confronted several people, whose identities were not disclosed, shortly after 8 p.m. on March 15, 2024, at a business in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, near Park Avenue.

During the encounter, Gonzalez pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at them but missed, authorities said. No one was injured.

The defendants immediately fled the location.

Detectives spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the robbers. A search warrant was served within a week at Gonzalez’s property in the 300 block of West Third Street, where “items of evidentiary value were located, along with three firearms,” Thompson said.

The defendant was taken into custody without incident.

Morris had been arrested days earlier after he was questioned by detectives at the sheriff’s Perris station.

Court records show Gonzalez has prior convictions for domestic violence and assault, while Morris had a prior for assault resulting in great bodily injury.

The post Convicted Felon Due For Sentencing Friday In RivCo Armed Robbery appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 23, of Perris was convicted in September of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two counts of armed robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a loaded gun, in addition to sentence- enhancing gun-use allegations. The Banning jury acquitted him of attempted murder in connection with the March 2024 attack.

During a hearing at the Banning Justice Center Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz imposed the required sentence for most counts, though court records indicated that he suspended terms on several others, which would have added an additional 20 to 30 years behind bars, effectively turning it into life with parole.

Gonzalez’s co-defendant, 24-year-old Ethan Michael Morris of Perris, pleaded guilty in 2024 to grand theft under a pretrial agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Morris. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Thompson, the pair confronted several people, whose identities were not disclosed, shortly after 8 p.m. on March 15, 2024, at a business in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, near Park Avenue.

During the encounter, Gonzalez pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at them but missed, authorities said. No one was injured.

The defendants immediately fled the location.

Detectives spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the robbers.

Morris was arrested a few days later after he was summoned to the sheriff’s Perris station for questioning.

A search warrant was served within a week at Gonzalez’s property in the 300 block of West Third Street, where “items of evidentiary value were located, along with three firearms,” Thompson said.

The defendant was arrested without incident.

Court records show Gonzalez had prior convictions for domestic violence and assault, while Morris had a prior for assault resulting in great bodily injury.

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Ronald Vikash Chand of Santa Ana allegedly perpetrated the attack in 2023 inside the Planet Fitness at 3685 Grand Oaks, near Cajalco Road.

Chand is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily injury, mayhem and vandalism.

For most of the last year, the defendant has undergone a series of psychiatric evaluations to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial. The doctors assigned to the case evidently did not find any indications of psychological disorders.

During a status hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Monday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Melissa Hale conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and both sides agreed to be prepared to move forward with trial proceedings at the end of February.

The defendant is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to the Corona Police Department, a 41-year-old Riverside man, whose name was not released, was in the fitness club parking lot when Chand confronted him shortly after 9 a.m. March 14, 2023, wielding a hatchet and knife.

Without provocation, the defendant allegedly struck the victim with the hatchet and stabbed him with the knife, resulting in “stab wounds to the upper body,” prompting the man to retreat into the Planet Fitness, Sgt. Jason Waldon said.

“While inside, Chand held the victim at knifepoint for a short period before being taken to the ground by the victim and was disarmed and detained with the assistance of bystanders,” Waldon said.

He said gym staff called 911, and patrol officers reached the location minutes later, taking Chand into custody without further incident.

“The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non- life-threatening injuries,” the sergeant said, adding that the man ultimately recovered.

Chand suffered an unspecified minor injury and was also treated before being taken to jail.

A possible motive for the attack was unknown.

Chand has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

The post Planet Fitness Gym Attack: Trial Date Set For Defendant appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Bryan Josue Flores Valdez of Eastvale pleaded guilty in March to three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor and three misdemeanor counts of annoying a child under 18 years old. The admissions were part of a plea bargain with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange, prosecutors dropped multiple related counts against Valdez.

During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to prosecutors, early in the summer of 2024, the defendant appeared outside several elementary schools in the Corona-Norco Unified School District and displayed his genitals to girls who walked past him.

Valdez was arrested for the exposure offenses but soon posted bond.

Shortly afterward, the county’s Child Exploitation Team — which is composed of personnel from the District Attorney’s Office, municipal police agencies, the U.S. Marshals and California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation — received information about the ongoing sexual abuse of a girl close to the defendant, though the specific relationship was not disclosed.

Further investigation confirmed that the victim had been sexually assaulted by Valdez several times that summer, according to the prosecution.

That resulted in a criminal complaint incorporating charges related to the sexual abuse and the incidents tied to indecent exposure.

The defendant had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

The post 45 Years In Prison For 24-Year-Old Sexual Assault Defendant appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A Banning jury deliberated just over two days before finding Stephen Roy McKernan guilty of the murder count and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony in the 2019 slaying of 75-year-old Claire Carsman.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 6 at the Banning Justice Center. McKernan, who is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility, is facing 16 years to life in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Steven Sorensen acknowledged in his closing statement last week that “we don’t know why Mr. McKernan did it.” But the prosecutor said testimony had revealed there were political differences between the defendant and victim – she a Democrat, he a Republican.

“She was watching one of her TV shows, and they bickered,” Sorensen said. “He had a sadistic reason.”

Defense attorney Michael Selyem said in his closing that his client “found Claire Carsman like that. There’s no doubt she was murdered, but it was not done by him.”

The attorney contended that investigators could never determine exactly what had transpired, or whether Carsman and McKernan were the only ones in the house at the time of the crime on April 22, 2019.

Selyem emphasized that his client was wearing a cast while healing from a broken arm, leaving him unable to lift heavy objects, like the bar stool that investigators confirmed had been used in the deadly assault.

“He drank wine, a quantity not known even to him, and he was taking Ativan,” Selyem told the jury.

Ativan is used to treat anxiety disorders and can lead to drowsiness.

The defendant had known Carsman and her husband, Barry, for years, leading to the invitation to stay with them, beginning April 20, 2019.

The victim’s spouse headed to an area casino in the early afternoon of April 22, leaving his wife and McKernan alone at the single-story residence at 360 W. Pico Road. Sorensen said nothing was amiss until 5:53 p.m., when Barry received a rapid succession of four calls from McKernan in under 10 minutes, all of which he missed.

One of the voicemail messages was replayed for the jury, during which McKernan was heard saying, “It’s a nightmare you’ve never been in your life. I need you to stay away so you’re not in any danger. We got attacked. We need your attorney. Jesus Christ.”

“She was bludgeoned,” Sorensen said, adding that blood spatter covering the defendant’s clothes and shoes indicated he “had to hold the bar stool facing Mrs. Carsman.”

Selyem said his client suffered cognitive impairment from a stroke, and he had an affinity for alcoholic beverages, but he was known as a “happy drunk.”

“He was safe around Mrs. Carsman,” the attorney said, dismissing the prosecution’s allegation that a disagreement over a news program may have ignited a conflict that turned fatal.

McKernan reached a 911 dispatcher, saying “We had a break-in. I think someone is dead.”

Barry and the police arrived to find a grisly scene.

McKernan was taken into custody without incident. One witness testified that his pants were unbuttoned and his belt had been hanging loose when officers encountered him standing outside the residence. However, there was no evidence of a sexual assault.

The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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Stephen Roy McKernan allegedly killed 75-year-old Claire Carsman in 2019.

McKernan is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony, inflicting great bodily injury and being in possession of a firearm during a felony.

The case, which has dragged on for years as the defendant experienced health complications, changed attorneys and underwent a lengthy mental competency assessment, was transferred Thursday from the Larson Justice Center in Indio to the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz was due to begin considering motions from the prosecution and defense concerning scheduling, witnesses, evidence and other matters on Thursday afternoon.

There was no immediate word on when jury selection might start. McKernan is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to testimony from the defendant’s 2020 preliminary hearing, he had known Carsman and her husband, whose identity was not disclosed, for years, and the couple invited him to stay with them in April 2019.

On the morning of April 22, the victim’s spouse headed to an area casino to gamble, leaving his wife and McKernan alone at the single-story residence in the 300 block of Pico Road, near Zanjero Road.

At some point during the roughly six-hour period in which the man was out, an unknown confrontation occurred between McKernan and the woman, culminating in him allegedly attacking her with a household object, prosecutors said.

Carsman’s husband returned around 6 in the evening to find her dead on the floor from “significant trauma” to the upper body, the Palm Springs Police Department said at the time.

McKernan was still at the property when officers arrived in response to the spouse’s 911 call. The defendant was taken into custody without incident.

A forensic technician testified in the preliminary hearing that blood found on the defendant’s shoes, shirt and pants indicated he was near the victim when she was struck with blunt force, which caused her blood to splatter.

McKernan has no documented felony convictions in Riverside County.

—City News Service

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