Suspected Coachella Valley Serial Burglar To Stand Trial On Burglary Charges

(CNS) – A suspected serial burglar accused of residential break- ins in two Coachella Valley cities must stand trial on felony charges, a judge ruled Tuesday. Teddy Kaiser Hartwell, 37, of Palm Springs, faces seven felony counts – – six of burglary and one of receiving stolen property, according to court records. Charges had been dismissed but were immediately re-filed in his case on Jan. 3. It was not immediately clear why the charges needed to be re-filed. At the end of a preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon, Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Stafford Hawkins ruled there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for Hartwell on all charges. A post-preliminary hearing arraignment was set for Feb. 1 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Hartwell was taken into custody April 30, 2021, hours after deputies responded to a burglary call on Via Las Flores in Rancho Mirage, according to Sgt. Christopher Ternes from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Ternes said the resident told deputies that while he was in his kitchen, he noticed a man inside his home with a flashlight, prompting him to call 911. The burglar then fled the home, hopped into a vehicle and sped away. Deputies spotted the suspect’s vehicle about six miles away in the 300 block of North Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs and made a traffic stop, according to Ternes. "Multiple items of stolen property were located during the search of Hartwell’s vehicle and his residence," Ternes said. Investigators said they were subsequently able to link Hartwell to a dozen other residential cat burglaries and two residential burglaries that occurred in the cities of Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage since March 30, 2021. The defendant was linked to burglaries at homes in Palm Desert located on Oakmont Drive, Augusta Drive, Amid Drive, Woodhaven Drive and Marrakesh Drive. In Rancho Mirage, Hartwell is suspected in burglaries at homes on Via Haciendas, Seville Court and Porto Cielo Court, according to court papers. Hartwell has prior felony convictions, including burglary and robbery, according to court records. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.