Brian Rokos
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Reporter for The Press-Enterprise covering public safety (police/fire/courts) in SoCal. Please send news tips to brokos@scng.com. Retweets are not endorsements.
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Articles by Brian Rokos
Riverside City College student Cheri Jo Bates’ friend still hopes 1966 killing can be solved Original
On a back page of Ken Welty’s 1964 Ramona High yearbook, a friend he had known in Riverside schools penned a note at the end of their sophomore year: “Ken — I have known you ever since the 6th grade — I think we are better ‘buds’ now than then. Summer school last year with ‘Mr. A.’ was really something – just as I think Am. Hist. will prove to be in the gym!See ya then — Cheri.” “She signed that,” Welty said, “and two years later she was dead.” Sixty years ago — on Oct.
Otorgan $51.8 millones a la madre de un hombre que murió a manos de alguaciles del condado de San Bernardino
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... El jueves 22 de octubre, un jurado federal concedió 51,8 millones de dólares a la madre de un hombre que fue abatido a tiros por agentes del sheriff del condado de San Bernardino mientras lo perseguían en una zona desértica al noroeste de Palm Springs, en 2023.
Esperanza fire at 20 years: Octagon House owner ensures fire crew’s sacrifice not forgotten Original
On a promontory some 3,200 feet above Cabazon, 73-year-old Greg Koeller keeps a candle lit below his infamous house for the five U.S. Forest Service firefighters who died while battling the Esperanza fire 20 years ago, on Oct. 26, 2006. Koeller built a display case that contains donated photographs of Capt.
$51.8 million awarded to family of man killed by San Bernardino County deputies Original
A federal jury on Thursday, Oct. 22, awarded $51.8 million to the mother of a man who San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed while chasing him in the open desert northwest of Palm Springs in 2023.
Riverside officials go out looking for homeless people to help Original
Matthew Brown III climbed out of a van at Riverside’s Bordwell Park on Wednesday, Oct. 21, toting his bicycle and taking tentative steps toward what he hoped would be a life off of the streets. The 56-year-old said he used to be a telemarketer and worked on Navy ships in San Diego before he couldn’t pay the rent and the bottom fell out. For the past 14 years, he has lived beneath a 91 Freeway overpass. Brown’s bicycle had no rear tube, and he could have used a belt for his camouflage shorts.
$1.75M settlement reached after Calif. inmate accused of killing cellmate
By Brian Rokos The Press-Enterprise SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The daughter of an Upland man who died after an attack by a fellow inmate in a San Bernardino jail in 2023 has settled a lawsuit against the county for $1.75 million, her attorney said. Judge Kenly Kiya Kato, after the agreement was reached, dismissed the case on Tuesday, Oct. 7 , court records show. The case was filed on July 11, 2024, in U.S. District Court in Riverside.
Norte fire burns homes, spreads to 250 acres in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano
A vegetation fire in San Clemente on Friday morning rapidly grew to 250 acres, prompting evacuations in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano as flames ravaged homes. Eight homes were reported burning in San Juan Capistrano, with flames reaching the backyards of several other residences. Firefighters responded around 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 16 to the 3000 block of Eminencia del Norte, according to Watch Duty, a nonprofit app that tracks wildfires.
Two California 13-year-olds arrested after carjacking, police pursuit in
Two 13-year-olds — including one already on probation for stealing a car — were arrested at the end of a pursuit of a vehicle that had been taken at gunpoint in San Bernardino, authorities said. Someone with a gun approached a man in his 60s about 11 p.m. on Oct. 9 in the 1400 block of North Pepper Tree Lane and took his car, said Sgt. Araceli Mata, a San Bernardino Police Department spokeswoman.
Riverside expulsa a 31 personas sin hogar y a 9 perros del campamento de Hole Lake
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Ante el aumento tanto del número de personas sin hogar que se congregaban en una propiedad privada cerca de Hole Lake como de la frecuencia de las quejas, la policía de Riverside y otros funcionarios desalojaron a 31 personas y limpiaron el terreno el miércoles 14 de octubre. El lugar de la operación se encontraba al noroeste de la intersección de Van Buren Boulevard y Arlington Avenue.
Riverside ejects 31 homeless people, 9 dogs from Hole Lake encampment Original
With both the number of homeless people congregating on private property near Hole Lake and the frequency of complaints increasing, Riverside police and other officials moved 31 people out and cleaned up the land on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The site of the operation was northwest of Van Buren Boulevard and Arlington Avenue. There is a residential area to the west, Van Buren Golf Center to the east, businesses to the south and Jurupa Avenue to the north.
2 juveniles arrested after carjacking, police pursuit in San Bernardino
Two 13-year-olds — including one already on probation for stealing a car — were arrested at the end of a pursuit of a vehicle that had been taken at gunpoint in San Bernardino, authorities said. Someone with a gun approached a man in his 60s about 11 p.m. on Oct. 9 in the 1400 block of North Pepper Tree Lane and took his car, said Sgt. Araceli Mata, a San Bernardino Police Department spokeswoman.
2 juveniles arrested after carjacking, police pursuit in San Bernardino Original
Two 13-year-olds — including one already on probation for stealing a car — were arrested at the end of a pursuit of a vehicle that had been taken at gunpoint in San Bernardino, authorities said. Someone with a gun approached a man in his 60s about 11 p.m. on Oct. 9 in the 1400 block of North Pepper Tree Lane and took his car, said Sgt. Araceli Mata, a San Bernardino Police Department spokeswoman.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Fontana school district IT manager accused of sexually abusing child
A 56-year-old Fontana Unified School District employee has been arrested on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, authorities said. The information-services-and-support manager does not have contact with district students when he is at work, and no Fontana student appears to be a victim, Fontana Unified spokeswoman Clarissa Trejo said on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Inmate records show the man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8.
El presidente de la junta escolar de Chino Valley critica la contratación de un entrenador sospechoso de poseer pornografía infantil
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Sonja Shaw, presidenta conservadora de la junta escolar de Chino Valley y candidata a superintendente estatal de educación, critica la contratación de un entrenador de voleibol de la escuela secundaria Etiwanda —quien al parecer es transgénero— tras la detención del empleado por parte de las autoridades.
$1.75 million settlement reached after inmate accused of killing cellmate in San Bernardino County Original
The daughter of an Upland man who died after an attack by a fellow inmate in a San Bernardino jail in 2023 has settled a lawsuit against the county for $1.75 million, her attorney said. Judge Kenly Kiya Kato, after the agreement was reached, dismissed the case on Tuesday, Oct. 7, court records show. The case was filed on July 11, 2024, in U.S. District Court in Riverside.
11 days after getting out of prison, LA man kills Temecula woman, authorities say Original
A Los Angeles man who had been out on parole for 11 days shot and killed a woman in Temecula on Monday, Oct. 5, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. Deputies responding to a report of unknown trouble in the 28000 block of Colorado Avenue found Shaquilah Howard, 30, suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators identified Rashad Kysim Populus, 28, as a suspect and tracked him to Oxnard, where he was arrested. Populus was booked into the Cois M.
Chino Hills man shoots wife, intercepted at LAX with cash and ticket, sheriff's department says
A Chino Hills man shot his wife and attempted to flee the country before he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said. The motive for the attack was not announced in the sheriff's news release. Deputies responding to the 1800 block of Foxgate Lane in Chino Valley found the woman being treated by paramedics for gunshot wounds.
Chino Hills man shoots wife, intercepted at LAX with cash and ticket, Sheriff’s Department says Original
A Chino Hills man shot his wife and attempted to flee the country before he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said. The motive for the attack was not announced in the sheriff’s news release. Deputies responding to the 1800 block of Foxgate Lane in Chino Valley found the woman being treated by paramedics for gunshot wounds.
El jurado recomienda la pena de muerte para un hombre de Victorville que asesinó a una mujer y a sus dos hijos
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... El jueves 1 de octubre, un jurado del condado de San Bernardino recomendó la pena de muerte para un hombre de Victorville por asesinar a una mujer y a sus dos hijos —con quienes compartía vivienda— y abandonar sus cuerpos en el desierto. Está previsto que Louis Gabriel Lucero, de 42 años, comparezca ante el Centro de Justicia de San Bernardino el 4 de diciembre; en esa fecha, la jueza del Tribunal Superior Cheryl C.
Apparent transgender coach at Etiwanda High arrested; state schools chief candidate blasts the hiring Original
Sonja Shaw, the conservative Chino Valley school board president running for state schools chief, is criticizing the hiring of an Etiwanda High volleyball coach who appears to be transgender after authorities arrested the employee. Police recently arrested an assistant coach for the Rancho Cucamonga school’s freshman girls’ volleyball team on suspicion of possession of child pornography. Shaw, a Republican who faces Democrat Richard Barrera in the Nov.
Jury recommends death for Victorville man who murdered woman and 2 sons Original
A San Bernardino County jury on Thursday, Oct. 1, recommended that a Victorville man be put to death for killing a woman and her two children, with whom he was sharing a residence, and dumping their bodies in the desert. Louis Gabriel Lucero, 42, is scheduled to appear at the San Bernardino Justice Center on Dec. 4, when Superior Court Judge Cheryl C. Kersey will either affirm the jury’s decision or sentence Lucero to life in prison without parole.
Former employee at Riverside care facility accused of secretly recording workers in bathroom Original
A former employee of a skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation facility in Riverside was arrested after an employee discovered a cell phone concealed inside an employee restroom. Riverside police detectives obtained search warrants and collected digital evidence, examined recordings, surveillance footage and employment records from Riverwalk Post Acute Care on Harrison Street before arresting a 38-year-old Riverside resident, a Police Department news release said.
Pomona police sergeant may face DUI, hit-and-run charges after multi-vehicle wreck Original
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is weighing whether to file charges against a Pomona police sergeant who crashed into several vehicles in an off-duty collision in July. The Chino Police Department, which investigated the crash, recommended charges of driving under the influence causing injury and hit-and-run causing injury against 50-year-old Richard Aguiar of Chino, according to a news release issued Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Lake Elsinore woman accused of forging name on Riverside home deed, attempting sale
A Lake Elsinore woman has been charged with embezzling from an elder after police say she illegally added her name to a victim’s deed and attempted to sell the victim’s $1 million house. The case prompted authorities to urge homeowners to monitor activity on their deeds. Jennifer Renee Lewis, 46, has pleaded not guilty to two felonies: the elder abuse charge and filing a forged document in a public office, as well as misdemeanor mail theft.
Lake Elsinore woman accused of forging name on Riverside home deed, attempting sale Original
A Lake Elsinore woman has been charged with embezzling from an elder after police say she illegally added her name to a victim’s deed and attempted to sell the victim’s $1 million house. The case prompted authorities to urge homeowners to monitor activity on their deeds. Jennifer Renee Lewis, 46, has pleaded not guilty to two felonies: the elder abuse charge and filing a forged document in a public office, as well as misdemeanor mail theft.
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