A 43-year-old man who stabbed another man on a bus in Desert Hot Springs pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges and was immediately sentenced to four years and eight months in state prison.
A convicted felon who shot a possible gang rival during a dispute outside a Moreno Valley bar, partially paralyzing the man, was sentenced Friday to 26 years, eight months to life in state prison.
“We call on Riverside County judges to show that same level of urgency and creativity to address this public safety crisis, as continuing to set criminals free undermines the entire justice system and threatens our communities,” the association said.
A snafu that caused a significant delay in jury summonses going out, culminating in a judge dismissing a sexual battery case in Riverside County, stemmed from a “mechanical failure” that the vendor who prints the notices had no control over, Superior Court officials said Thursday.
The Cruz matter was booted by Superior Court Judge John Molloy at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Dec. 9. The misdemeanor case was filed in November 2021, arising from an alleged lewd act a month earlier in the Riverside area, according to court records.
“A month ago, the in-home workers came asking for a $1.50 per hour raise. We said, sorry we cannot give you an additional buck-fifty. But now we’re going to give the new auditor-controller $61,000?”
The Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider whether to grant double-digit percentage salary increases for five Riverside County elected officials, potentially making the sheriff and district attorney better paid than their counterparts in four neighboring counties.
Riverside County prosecutors are scrambling to re- file complaints and submit motions challenging judges’ decisions to dismiss hundreds of criminal cases countywide, in what District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Monday is fast becoming a “public safety crisis.”
