http://rivcoda.org/2025_Justice_Awards
DA Mike Hestrin Announces Justice Awards Recipients March 3, 2026 COUNTYWIDE – The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office celebrated its 2025 Justice Awards banquet on Friday, Feb. 27, at the Green River Golf Club in Corona. The annual event honored staff members for their outstanding achievements, professionalism, and unwavering dedication to justice and service throughout Riverside County…
http://rivcoda.org/AB46
Several California DAs Call On Legislature to Fix the Mental Health Diversion Law With AB 46 March 12, 2026 RIVERSIDE – The Riverside District Attorney’s Office is joining the California District Attorneys Association in their statewide call for the California Legislature to pass common sense mental health diversion (MHD) legislation, Assembly Bill 46. This legislation is sponsored by the…
http://rivcoda.org/schoolpsych_childsexcrimes
School Psychologist Charged With Child Sex Crimes March 17, 2026 RIVERSIDE – A Riverside County school psychologist was arrested and charged for child sex crimes following a three-month investigation. Paul Ryan Coleman, DOB: 11-30-1979, of Yucaipa, reached out to and exchanged hundreds of sexually explicit messages with an undercover investigator posing as a 13-year-old child. After a three-…
http://rivcoda.org/coachella_mayor_guilty
Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez Pleads Guilty to Conflict-of-Interest Charge March 24, 2026 INDIO – Today, Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez has pled guilty to one felony count of violating Government Code section 1090, a conflict-of-interest law prohibiting public officials from participating in government contracts in which they have a financial interest.The plea was entered as part of an…
http://rivcoda.org/carmax_settlement
California CarMax Dealerships to Pay $1.1 Million to Settle Consumer Protection Lawsuit March 25, 2026 RIVERSIDE – A network of car dealerships owned and operated as subsidiaries of CarMax Auto Superstores, Inc. (“CarMax”), one of the nation’s largest used car retailers, has been ordered to pay $1,100,000 to resolve a consumer protection lawsuit involving the sale of used vehicles in California.…
http://rivcoda.org/news/laws-weird-and-real
LAWS -- The weird and the real January 26, 2021 When in Palm Springs, please remember that you can’t walk your camel down Palm Canyon Drive from 4 to 6 p.m. Apparently it is OK at other times of the day. If you head to San Francisco and you bring your elephant, please know that you can’t walk it on Market Street – unless it is on a leash. And don’t even think about bowling on sidewalks in Chino.…
http://rivcoda.org/news/celebrating-asian-american-pacific-islander-heritage-month-please-meet-deputy-da-sophia-choi
Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Please Meet Deputy DA Sophia Choi May 31, 2022 Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Please Meet Deputy DA Sophia Choi Like many younger sisters, Sophia Choi has always looked up to her older sister. Sophia always wanted to be just like Sylvia, the sister that is about 3 ½ years older. Their bond has remained…
http://rivcoda.org/news/parole-board-grants-early-release-rapist-decades-sentence-end
Parole Board Grants Early Release to Rapist Decades Before Sentence End November 17, 2023 The state Board of Parole Hearings has agreed to release a convicted rapist 29 years into a 170-year prison sentence. This move comes over the objections of the victim and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In 1994, Cody Woodsen Klemp, DOB: 4-16-56, was convicted of 40 felonies involving the…
http://rivcoda.org/news/gunman-sought-cathedral-city-murder-co-defendant-faces-sentencing
Gunman Sought in Cathedral City Murder as Co-Defendant Faces Sentencing November 29, 2023 Sentencing for a Cathedral City man convicted of murdering an innocent father who had moved into the former home of the intended victim, is scheduled for tomorrow, Dec. 1, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. at the Banning Justice Center.On Oct. 18, a jury found Josue Agustin Sanchezcasas, DOB: 08-20-96, guilty of the second…
http://rivcoda.org/news/additional-charges-and-defendant-added-luxury-car-theft-scheme
Additional Charges and Defendant Added in Luxury Car Theft Scheme December 1, 2023 A second person has now been charged in a multi-million dollar scheme involving the theft of luxury cars throughout Riverside County. Gabriel Dean Watters, DOB: 11-29-76, of San Diego, pleaded not guilty on Nov. 30 to 12 felonies, which include embezzlement, car theft, and buying or receiving stolen vehicles.…
