Deputies responded to the 45000 block of Castile Canyon Road around 11:40 p.m. Saturday to a report of a person who had been shot, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Responding deputies found Frankie Ortega of San Jacinto suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit assumed the investigation.

As of Sunday afternoon no arrests had been made, as investigators were still working to identify the suspect or suspects involved. Anyone with additional information about the case was encouraged to contact Investigator Gonzales at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Siaw at 951-791-3400.

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Authorities said 29-year-old Yash Patel was arrested Saturday in Jurupa Valley after detectives from the department’s Special Investigations Bureau completed an inquiry into allegations involving sexual battery and false imprisonment.

According to the sheriff’s office, Patel joined the department in July 2021 and had most recently been working at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

Following his arrest, Patel was placed on administrative leave with pay while the department conducts an internal review of the allegations.

Sheriff’s officials emphasized that claims of employee misconduct are handled seriously and investigated thoroughly.

“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office maintains strict standards for professional conduct,” the agency said in a statement. “Any allegations involving personnel are carefully reviewed.”

Patel is scheduled to appear in court on April 20 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Details regarding bail had not been released at the time of the announcement.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have additional information related to the case to contact Investigator Cardinale at 951-955-1700.

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On Wednesday, deputies and personnel from the Riverside County Post Release Accountability Compliance Team located 23-year-old Samuel Salazar at a home in the 700 block of E. Wright Street in Hemet and took him into custody without incident, according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. 

Salazar was identified as the suspect shortly after the shooting, which happened on May 7, 2023, but deputies were unable to locate him. Despite a warrant for his arrest, he continued to elude their efforts until this week. He was booked for murder at the Robert Presley Detention Center.

The 2023 incident left 18-year-old Lake Elsinore man Noah Ivancso dead in the 33100 block of Jamieson Street. He was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds when deputies arrived at the time and he was eventually pronounced dead at the scene. 

As their investigation into the incident continues, investigators said they would not be sharing further details. Anyone who may know more was asked to contact RSO’s Central Homicide Unit at (951) 955-2777. 

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Brayan Cardenas, 27, of Perris, on Tuesday admitted charges of burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm and trespassing under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Cardenas.

During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Gary Polk certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

In September, Cardenas’ co-defendant, 20-year-old Eduardo Urena, also of Perris, pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years’ probation.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Mahoney, the men came under investigation on Aug. 30 following a theft at a property in the 20000 block of Krameria Avenue, near Barton Street, where multiple warehouses are located.

Mahoney said deputies determined trucks’ cargo trailers parked at the location had been forcibly opened and numerous items stolen, including electronics, household appliances and tools. The total loss was estimated at $75,000.

The investigation pointed to the defendants as the perpetrators, and deputies served a search warrant at a property in the 1500 block of Palma Bonita Lane in Perris used by one of the men, according to Mahoney.

Along with all of the loot, “two firearms, ammunition, currency and cocaine” were seized by deputies, the sergeant said.

The men were taken into custody without incident hours later.

Cardenas has at least one documented prior felony conviction, but it wasn’t listed in court documents. Background information on Urena was unavailable.

The post Felon Who Burgled Cargo Trailers In Riverside County Pleads Guilty appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Mitchell Akira Takata, 23, of Los Altos, had pleaded guilty to the crimes in October, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

In May 2024, Riverside police began investigating reports of sexual abuse involving a child who authorities described as “severely handicapped and non-verbal.”

The reporting party told police that during a therapy session, the girl had been sexually abused by Takata, who was her behavioral therapist. 

Officers arrived at the girl’s home where, following an investigation, Takata was taken into custody. He was held at the Robert Presley Detention Center on $1 million bail.

Takata had been working as a behavioral therapist for around three years at the time of his arrest and he primarily worked with disabled children, prosecutors said.

In June 2024, he was charged with the crimes and in October 2025, he pleaded guilty to one count of an attempt to commit rape and one count of lewd and lascivious acts of a child under 14 years of age.

On Dec. 15, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. At the time, investigators were also searching for more possible victims.

Anyone with additional information on the case can call Detective Daniel Suarez at 951-353-7120 or email dsuarez@riversideca.gov.

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Delory Sinclar, 61, was Sinclair was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on $1,000,000 bail for kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, annoying or molesting a minor, and possession of illegal narcotics.

On Tuesday, November 11, at 4:13 p.m., deputies from the Lake Mathews Sheriff’s Station responded to a reported kidnapping in the 25000 block of Santiago Canyon Road, Corona, according to department spokesman Sgt. Patrick Montalvo.

Upon arrival, deputies learned that an unknown male had grabbed a 12-year-old girl by the arm and attempted to pull her into his vehicle. “The victim escaped and sought help from a nearby adult witness,” Montalvo said.

Deputies obtained a description of the suspect and his vehicle. During a search of the area, the suspect was later identified as Sinclar of Corona.

“During the investigation, deputies learned that Sinclar had attempted to kidnap a second 14-year-old girl just before he was taken into custody,” Montalvo said.

There were no reported injuries to either victim.

The Lake Mathews Station investigators assumed the case and obtained search warrants for Sinclair’s residence and vehicle.

On Wednesday, investigators served a search warrant at Sinclair’s residence located in the 26000 block of Blackhorse Circle in the unincorporated area of Corona known as Horsethief Canyon.

Investigators recovered evidence related to the kidnapping, other possible crimes, and a large quantity of illegal narcotics during the warrant search, Montalvo said.

“The Riverside Sheriff’s Office believes there may be additional victims and encourages anyone with information on this case to call Investigator Andrews at the Lake Mathews Sheriff’s Station at 951-272-5600.

“This is still an active and ongoing investigation. No further details are available at this time.”

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A prosecutor on Tuesday urged jurors to convict the woman, while a defense attorney countered that his client didn’t do anything wrong involving the latest alleged victim.

The downtown Los Angeles jury was handed the case late Tuesday against Libby Adame, 55, who is charged with one count each of murder and practicing medicine without certification in connection with the March 24 death of 59-year-old Cindyana Santangelo of Malibu.

Adame and her daughter, Alicia Galaz, were convicted in March 2024 of involuntary manslaughter — but acquitted of the more serious charge of murder – – stemming from the Oct. 15, 2019, death of 26-year-old Karissa Rajpaul following buttocks injections administered at a Sherman Oaks home.

Adame was also found guilty last year of three counts of practicing medicine without a certification, while her daughter was convicted of two counts of practicing medicine without a certification.

Adame was sentenced in April 2024 to four years and four months in state prison, while her daughter was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison, with Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli subsequently agreeing with an argument by Galaz’s attorney that the two were entitled to additional credit for the time they underwent electronic monitoring while out of custody following their August 2021 arrests at the Riverside home they shared.

In her closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Lee Cernok told the panel that the judge in Adame’s first trial had warned the defendant in April 2024 that she was “on notice of the dangers that could result” from her actions after her conviction for involuntary manslaughter for Rajpaul’s death and that the judge had warned her that she could be charged with murder if it occurred again.

“Did she know better?” the prosecutor asked jurors of Adame, saying the answer was “a resounding yes.”

Santangelo died after being rushed from her home to a nearby hospital in Ventura County, with authorities subsequently determining that her cause of death was an embolism caused by a silicone injection, the prosecutor noted.

“There is no reasonable doubt in this case, ladies and gentlemen,” the deputy district attorney said.

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan countered that “she did not do it,” saying that there were “no injections this time by her.”

He acknowledged that Adame had performed a “procedure” on Rajpaul in 2019 and that Rajpaul had died as a result of a silicone injection.

Adame’s lawyer noted that his client was still on probation at the time of Santangelo’s death and knew that she can’t do “butt work” in California, but said the woman known as “the butt lady” or “La Tia” was working as a “consultant” on behalf of doctors who can legally perform buttocks injections in Tijuana, Mexico.

The defense attorney contended that his client wouldn’t have had enough time to perform the procedure after arriving at the woman’s house, and accused investigators of failing to adequately investigate after deciding that his client was the only suspect in the woman’s death.

He said Adame saw that Santangelo already had bandages on her buttocks at the time of the consultation in the “beauty room” of the 59-year-old woman’s home, arguing that someone else had performed the procedure earlier that resulted in the woman’s death.

In her rebuttal argument, the prosecutor told jurors to hold Adame “responsible” and tell her that “she is not above the law.”

Adame testified Monday in her own defense, denying that she was the one who gave Santangelo any injections the day she died.

“Do you know who did?” her attorney asked.

“No,” the defendant responded.

Adame — who told jurors that she had done thousands of the procedures — said the puncture marks on Santangelo’s buttocks were “too high” and that “it’s not my work.”

She said Santangelo kept clearing her throat from the time she arrived at the home and was “already breathing like she needed air.” She said that the woman’s husband told her to leave after he called 911.

“You just happened to arrive after she got the injections from someone else?” the prosecutor asked Adame during cross-examination.

“Yes,” Adame responded.

The woman’s husband, Frank Santangelo, testified that his wife of 24 years appeared to have been breathing normally before meeting with Adame and wanted a “butt enhancement” to correct lumps in her buttocks from hormone treatment but didn’t want to increase the size of her buttocks.

He said his wife — who had worked as an actress — subsequently was “struggling to breathe,” was squirming on the massage table and “had blood coming from each butt cheek.”

The woman’s husband testified that Adame told him, “This has never happened to a client of mine before.”

He said Adame told him she might have something in her car that could help the woman and packed her bag, telling jurors that Adame never came back into the house again.

The woman’s husband said he never saw his wife’s phone again, but was eventually able to access her messages with Adame from her iCloud and alerted authorities after he recognized photos that his wife had taken of Adame’s buttocks and tattoos in his presence that afternoon.

He said his wife was rushed to a hospital, where doctors told her that “she didn’t make it.”

Adame has remained behind bars since she was arrested May 12 by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department personnel, jail records show.

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Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 22, of Perris, was arrested in March 2024 following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.

Gonzalez is charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count each of attempted murder, firearm assault, being a felon in possession of a loaded gun, parole violations and sentence-enhancing gun use allegations.

Following more than two days of jury selection, which was paused for the Labor Day holiday weekend, a panel was sworn in Tuesday by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz at the Banning Justice Center.

The judge then directed the prosecution and defense to proceed with opening statements. Prosecution witnesses were slated to begin testifying in the trial Wednesday.

Last year, Gonzalez’s co-defendant, 23-year-old Ethan Michael Morris of Perris, pleaded guilty to grand theft under a plea agreement negotiated 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 state prison.

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

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

During the encounter, Gonzalez allegedly pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at one of them, but missed, authorities said.

No one was injured.

The defendants fled the location.

The case was turned over to detectives, who spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the alleged 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 was arrested days earlier after he was questioned by investigators 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 Jury Seated In RivCo Armed Robbery, Shooting Trial appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Perris Station responded to the 2000 block of Blue Elm Road in Perris on July 28 to reports regarding multiple solar combiner boxes stolen from a new residential development, according to sheriff’s officials.

Additional solar charging batteries were taken from another new housing development in the 24000 block of Sirius Avenue in Moreno Valley on Wednesday, prompting Perris Sheriff’s Station Robbery and Burglary Suppression Team personnel to investigate the matter.

Several search warrants were executed by RBST personnel with assistance from Special Enforcement Team and Homeless Outreach Team investigators in the 21000 block of John Street and the 21000 block of Nance Street in Mead Valley, where evidential items related to the thefts were recovered, such as an unregistered rifle and ammunition, sheriff’s officials said.

Investigators identified Ignacio Barraza of Mead Valley, 32, as a person of interest in connection with the theft and took him into custody, where he was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center.

Four other suspects were identified and taken into custody:

— Katy Medina of Mead Valley, 32, who was booked on suspicion of being in possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia;

— Angel Rubio of Mead Valley, 33, who was booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of ammunition, probation violation, and an outstanding warrant;

— Nelson Covarrubias of Mead Valley, 37, who was booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm; and

— Jacob Rubio of Mead Valley, 31, who was booked on suspicion of resisting arrest.

All suspects were also taken to the Cois Byrd Detention Center for processing, according to sheriff’s officials.

Anyone with information regarding the thefts was urged to call Perris Sheriff’s Station Deputy Hartert at 951-210-1000.

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Jair Armando Vazquez allegedly killed 62-year-old Armando Vazquez in 2021.

The defendant is charged with first-degree murder.

During a pretrial hearing Tuesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam received defense motions regarding the need for a mental health evaluation, and she agreed, directing the county Department of Behavioral Health to assign doctors to carry out assessments.

Pulliam scheduled a hearing for July 14 at the Riverside Hall of Justice to confirm which specialists will handle the matter.

Vazquez is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, about 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2021, the defendant was involved in an unspecified confrontation with his dad while at the victim’s residence in the 8600 block of Arlington Avenue, near Lake Street.

“The preliminary investigation revealed the victim’s son … physically assaulted his father, then fled in the victim’s vehicle,” Railsback said.

He said that Vazquez’s mother, whose identity was not disclosed, returned home to find her husband bleeding and unconscious on the living room floor.

Paramedics arrived within a few minutes and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

Railsback said homicide detectives quickly identified Jair Vazquez as the alleged assailant and uncovered information indicating that he was in Newport Beach. Police in the coastal city were requested to assist, and they located the defendant that night on Coronado Street, where he was taken into custody without incident.

Vazquez has a traffic-related misdemeanor conviction from 2019, but no felonies, according to court records.

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