File # C221950005

Update:

Investigators from the Central Homicide Unit have arrested three suspects in connection with this case. They have been identified as Hector Ramiro Yamanaka, 44-year-old; Daisy Gil Cabrera, 34-year-old, and Ireneo D. Lagunez, all residents of Coachella. There are no outstanding suspects.;

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777.

Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

Update:

On July 29, 2022, Investigators received positive identification of the victim. The victim has been identified as Jesus M. Hernandez, a 35-year-old resident of Coachella. Investigators have made next of kin notification. Based on the on-going investigation, this case is being investigated as a homicide.

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Glasper of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station 760-863-8990. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

Details:

On July 14, 2022, at 2:02 a.m., deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station responded to assist Cal Fire with a report of a burned body inside a vehicle on the 83000 block of Avenue 60, in Thermal. Upon arriving, deputies met with Cal Fire personnel who located the deceased victim’s body while extinguishing the fire. The victim and vehicle were located in a date orchard. A crime scene was secured and the Central Homicide Unit responded to assume the investigation. Central Homicide Investigators are being assisted by arson investigators from Cal Fire. The victim has not been identified.

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Glasper of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station 760-863-8990.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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File # C221950005

Update:

On July 29, 2022, Investigators received positive identification of the victim. The victim has been identified as Jesus M. Hernandez, a 35-year-old resident of Coachella. Investigators have made next of kin notification. Based on the on-going investigation, this case is being investigated as a homicide.

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Glasper of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station 760-863-8990. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

Details:

On July 14, 2022, at 2:02 a.m., deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station responded to assist Cal Fire with a report of a burned body inside a vehicle on the 83000 block of Avenue 60, in Thermal. Upon arriving, deputies met with Cal Fire personnel who located the deceased victim’s body while extinguishing the fire. The victim and vehicle were located in a date orchard. A crime scene was secured and the Central Homicide Unit responded to assume the investigation. Central Homicide Investigators are being assisted by arson investigators from Cal Fire. The victim has not been identified.

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Glasper of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station 760-863-8990.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Suspicious Death Investigation / Homicide appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # C221950005

Details:

On July 14, 2022, at 2:02 a.m., deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station responded to assist Cal Fire with a report of a burned body inside a vehicle on the 83000 block of Avenue 60, in Thermal. Upon arriving, deputies met with Cal Fire personnel who located the deceased victim’s body while extinguishing the fire. The victim and vehicle were located in a date orchard. A crime scene was secured and the Central Homicide Unit responded to assume the investigation. Central Homicide Investigators are being assisted by arson investigators from Cal Fire. The victim has not been identified.

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Glasper of the Thermal Sheriff’s Station 760-863-8990.

Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

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File # PC221400037

Details:

On Friday, May 20, 2022, at 2:27 PM, deputies from the Perris Station responded to a call of an unconscious male in the 16900 block of Mockingbird Canyon Road in the unincorporated area of Riverside. Upon arrival, they found a deceased male adult. Deputies secured the area and began an investigation.

Investigators from the Perris Sheriff’s Station and the Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation. The deceased’s identity is not being released at this time, pending notification to next of kin.

This is an active investigation, and no additional details are currently available. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department encourages anyone with information or video regarding the incident to contact Central Homicide Investigator Gilbert at (951) 955-2777.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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The body of Jodi Newkirk, a resident of Mountain Center, was discovered at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in a large, open field near the intersection of Bonita Vista and Apple Canyon roads, according to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Baeza.

Baeza said investigators were under the impression Newkirk was struck by a hit-and-run driver and left at the scene. But upon further examination, her body appeared to bear “unexplained injuries” that raised suspicions of homicide.

The sheriff’s department lead homicide unit has since taken over the case.

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation has been asked to contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Central Homicide Unit at (951) 955-2777.

Jake Flanagin | Contributed

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The victim has been identified as 46 year-old, Jodi Newkirk, a resident of the Mountain Center community. If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Master Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-277 or Investigator Rinkert of the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at 951-791-3400.

Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

Details:

On 12-23-21, at 5:39 p.m., Hemet Station deputies responded to the 58000 block of Bonita Vista Rd., reference a suspicious death investigation initially believed to have been a traffic fatality. Upon arriving, deputies located a deceased female in the open area of a large private property with unexplained injuries. A crime scene was secured, and the Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation. Investigators remained on scene until the late afternoon hours of 12-24-21, due to the terrain and inclement weather. The victim’s identity is being withheld pending next of kin notification. 

If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to call Master Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit Station at 951-955-277 or Investigator Rinkert of the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at 951-791-3400.

Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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On Saturday, September 4, 2021, deputies from the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to a call for service regarding an unidentified deceased adult female found in the area of McCallister and El Sobrante, which is a remote location in the unincorporated area of Lake Hills. Hunters in the area discovered the deceased female and immediately called 911 to report their findings.

Deputies secured the area and began an investigation. Investigators from the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station and the Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation. At this time, the circumstances surrounding the death are unknown. The identity of the female is currently unknown.

This is an active investigation, and no additional details are currently available. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department encourages anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Central Homicide Investigator Gilbert at (951) 955-2777.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It’s common practice for police around the U.S. to place combative suspects face down and press down on their backs with hands, elbows or knees to gain control.

They aren’t supposed to do it for an “extended period” because that can lead to injuries or death. But what length of time is appropriate?

That question and the face-down method are in the spotlight after police video released last week showed officers in Northern California struggling with a man for more than five minutes as he lay face down.

He died. Two days after the video became public, a jury in Southern California awarded more than $2 million to the family of a homeless man who died in 2018 after officers in Anaheim used a similar technique to restrain him.

Now, a Los Angeles-area lawmaker who is a former police officer is trying to outlaw techniques that create a substantial risk of what’s known as “positional asphyxia” — legislation police oppose as either vague or unnecessary given that most departments already restrict the practice.

“This does not mean that a police officer can no longer restrain anyone when they need to for public safety, but it would mean that they cannot keep anyone from breathing/losing oxygen when restraining them,” Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gipson said in a statement.

He cited George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last year, who was face down as an officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, and another California death before Christmas involving police in the San Francisco Bay Area community of Antioch.

The legislation is getting more attention after 26-year-old Mario Gonzalez died on April 19. Body camera video released last week showed he was pinned down by four Alameda Police Department employees. Officers confronted him after receiving 911 calls that he seemed disoriented or drunk and appeared to be breaking the security tags off bottles of alcohol he had in shopping baskets.

The department’s policy manual says a suspect “shall not be placed on his/her stomach for an extended period, as this could reduce the person’s ability to breathe.”

“Every department has policies on this,” said Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force consultant to law enforcement agencies and a deputy sheriff and legal adviser for the Plumas County, California, sheriff’s office. “Every law enforcement agency trains their officers, advises them, cautions them on this very restraint issue — positional asphyxia.”

Timothy T. Williams Jr., a police tactics expert who spent nearly 30 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, said the policy should be clearer.

“The policy needs to be more specific and directed: Once he or she is handcuffed, they are to be immediately removed from the prone position, put on their side and if possible set up,” Williams said. Otherwise, “you leave everything to subjective interpretation: What may be short to you may be long to me.”

That’s not new: A 1995 bulletin from the U.S. Department of Justice advised agencies that “as soon as the suspect is handcuffed, get him off his stomach.”

Williams and Obayashi agree that the officers in Alameda should have known that they needed to get Gonzalez onto his side more quickly. In fact, the video captures an officer suggesting they do so about 15 seconds before Gonzalez loses consciousness. Another officer refused, apparently fearing he would lose his grip.

The video shows one officer putting an elbow on Gonzalez’s neck and a knee on his shoulder, while another appears to put a knee on his back and leaves it there for about four minutes, even as Gonzalez gasps for air. Officers handcuffed him about two minutes after they pinned him to the ground but didn’t turn him on his back until three minutes later, when he had lost consciousness.

From a medical standpoint, any restriction of oxygen or blood flow is too long, said University of California, San Francisco, neurologist Nicole Rosendale.

“There are no kind of safe, defined ways to have someone in a position like this and reduce oxygen,” she said. “There’s no way to predict who might be at higher risk or lower risk of complications from this positioning.”

That’s the premise of the proposed California ban, which would outlaw applying pressure or body weight to a restrained person’s neck, torso or back or laying them face up or face down without proper monitoring.

The California State Sheriffs’ Association said the language is too broad, violations would be too difficult to judge and a ban would leave officers fewer options against violent suspects and more likely to use batons or stun guns.

The National Conference of State Legislatures said Nevada enacted a similar ban last year as part of broader legislation.

After Floyd’s death, California last year barred police from using arm-based grips, including chokeholds that apply pressure to a person’s windpipe and carotid holds that slow the flow of blood to the brain.

It was similarly once common to hog-tie, or hobble, combative suspects by binding their ankles to their wrists behind their backs, though the Los Angeles and New York police departments were among those that abandoned that practice nearly a quarter-century ago after it was blamed for too many deaths.

An attorney for the Alameda officers, Alison Berry Wilkinson, said they “used the lowest degree of force possible given the intensity of Mr. Gonzalez’s efforts to evade their grasp.” She said officers never pressed down hard enough to stop his breathing.

Eugene O’Donnell, a former New York City police officer and professor of police studies at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the body camera footage of Gonzalez’s arrest “is a training video for anybody who’s reasonably fair to see how hard it is if a situation becomes physical.”

“What you have now in many police departments is prohibitions that make physical arrests very hard — avoiding the chest, avoiding putting somebody on their stomach, avoiding their neck,” O’Donnell said. “And there’s always the possibility somebody can die in an arrest situation.”

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The investigation into the death of Cynthia Denise Ibarra – Cabrera continued. On Saturday, March 20, 2021, investigators arrested Edwin Cordova, 28 years old out of Murrieta for murder. This is still an ongoing investigation and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department encourages anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Central Homicide Investigator Jose Vasquez at (760) 393-3529 or (951) 955-2777.

Details:

On Thursday, March 18, 2021, deputies from the Southwest Station responded to the area of Camino Estribo and Pujol, in reference to a vehicle that had been located off the roadway and down a steep embankment. 

Deputies were able to make it down the embankment and gain access to the vehicle. Upon doing so, they located a female deceased inside of the vehicle. The female was identified as Cynthia Denise Ibarra-Cabrera, 30 years old out of Murrieta.

This is an active investigation and no additional details are currently available. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department encourages anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Investigator Jose Vasquez at (760) 393-3529 or (951) 955-2777.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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The remains have been positively identified as Guillermo Jacobo, 21 years of age out of Thermal. This case is officially being investigated as a homicide and anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact Central Homicide Investigator Munoz at (760) 770-2452 or (951) 955-2777.

Details:

On Sunday, January 24, 2021, Deputies from the Thermal Patrol Station responded to the desert area near State Highway 195 and 70th avenue in the unincorporated area of Oasis reference a burned vehicle with human remains inside of it.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation. No identification of the remains has been made at this time.

This is an active investigation and no additional details are currently available. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department encourages anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Central Homicide Investigator Munoz at (760) 770-2452 or (951) 955-2777.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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