Coachella Valley Gang Task Force Arrests 15 Adults, 1 Minor in Operation

COACHELLA (CNS) – The Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force arrested 16 people, including one minor, as part of an operation aimed at combating gang violence in the valley, authorities said Friday.

The operation began at 8 a.m. Thursday with assistance from Riverside County Gang Task Force Regions 2, 3, 4 and 6; the East P.A.C.T; the Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells Special Enforcement Teams; the California Highway Patrol K9 Team; and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Air Operations, according to Sgt. Paul Heredia of the sheriff’s department.

Heredia said that various illegally possessed weapons, including five firearms, were collected during the operation and 16 people were arrested on suspicion of weapons, controlled substances and warrant charges.

Among the people arrested were three Desert Hot Springs women, a 17- year-old boy from Cathedral City, and a dozen men — five from Desert Hot Springs, two each from Thousand Palms and Cathedral City, and one each from Sky Valley, Mecca and Indio, according to Heredia. The boy was booked into Juvenile Hall while all the adults were booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio.

Anyone with information regarding gang activity was asked to call 951- 922-7601 or use the sheriff department’s online Gang Task Force Tip Form which can be found at http://www.riversidesheriff.org.

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