Man sentenced to 35 years in prison for molesting Lake Elsinore girls
Riverside man arrested for $74,000 jewelry theft from Kohl's in Seal Beach
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Thursday, September 21-September 27, 2023
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Deputies arrested: 1 accused of extorting female inmates; 1 for allegedly transporting narcotics By City News Service
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corrections deputy has been arrested on suspicion of extortion and engaging in sexual activity with female inmates assigned to home confinement in Banning. Christian Heidecker, 32, was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on Friday afternoon on $1 million bail after he turned himself in to investigators, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. On Aug. 31, sheriff's investigators were notified of possible crimes being committed by an employee formerly assigned to the Riverside Alternative Sentencing Program located at the Coordinated Custody Management Unit in Banning. Investigators said they learned a correctional deputy was extorting female inmates who were assigned to the home confinement unit. Inmates assigned to the program are required to wear ankle monitors to complete their court- ordered sentencing while confined to their
The Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department
homes. Heidecker was booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center on one count of engaging in sexual activity with an inmate, three counts of attempted sexual activity with an inmate, and four counts of extortion under color of authority. Heidecker has been placed on administrative leave.
Sheriff's officials believed there may be additional victims and were asking anyone with information about the case to contact Investigator R. Deanne at 951-955-2777. Riverside deputy nabbed for allegedly transporting narcotics A Riverside County sheriff's corrections deputy alleg-
edly caught transporting a significant amount of drugs on Interstate 10 was being held Monday in lieu of $1 million bail. Jorge Oceguera Rocha, 25, of Banning was arrested and booked into the Byrd Detention Center on Sunday on suspicion of transportation of drugs in excess of 44 pounds, possession of narcotics and
possession of controlled substances while armed. Rocha immediately tendered his resignation after being booked into the Murrieta jail, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Wenndy Brito Gonzalez. She said that Rocha was driving in the area of I-10 and County Line Road in Calimesa when he was stopped by law
enforcement. "It was discovered that Rocha was in possession of narcotics," the sheriff's spokeswoman said. "No additional details will be released at this time, as the case is still under investigation." The suspect was hired by the sheriff's department in April 2019, but it was unclear how long he had been assigned to the Smith jail. The type of drugs allegedly in his vehicle wasn't specified, and there was no word on whether Rocha was selling the substances throughout the correctional system, where multiple drug-related deaths have occurred, leading to a lawsuit earlier this year. "The Riverside County Sheriff's Department condemns any form of illegal activity and remains resolute in its commitment to deterring and preventing such behavior," according to Gonzalez. The case was expected to be turned over to the District Attorney's Office for review Monday or Tuesday.
County residents with storm damage of $10,000 or more can file for tax relief
Riverside County to launch state mental health program
By City News Service and Staff
By Staff
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roperty owners who incurred damage from Tropical Storm Hilary of $10,000 or more can file a claim for disaster property tax relief with Riverside County, it was announced Monday. The relief will cover taxable property including residences, commercial buildings, boats and aircrafts that are locally assessed, according to Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and Riverside County Clerk Recorder Peter Aldana. "When major calamities such as fires or floods damage or destroy property, the owner may be eligible for property tax relief," county officials wrote in a statement. "In such cases, the assessor's office will reappraise the property to reflect its damaged condition."
iverside County will implement a state law that aims to keep mentally ill people out of the penal system and into contact with providers of behavioral health care, officials announced Monday. The Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment, or CARE, Act is set to start in Riverside County on Oct. 2. "The CARE Act is a new state law meant to address and treat those with severe mental health disorders by allowing the court to order the county to provide behavioral health treatment in community-based settings," according to the county. The law "creates a new pathway to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely