NORCO (CNS) – A motorist killed in a two-car collision on Interstate 15 in Norco was identified Monday as a 55-year-old Perris man. David Vieira was fatally injured about 11:35 a.m. Sunday on northbound I-15, just north of Sixth Street, according to the California Highway Patrol. Vieira was in one of two sedans that impacted near the Sixth Street on- ramp to the freeway. The victim’s car was reportedly traveling at high speed just prior to the collision, but no other details were available. Vieira’s vehicle came to rest in a stand of trees adjacent to the shoulder of the freeway. Riverside Cou ..read more

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A felon who robbed a Perris store and shot at a security guard while making his getaway, then later attempted to evade sheriff’s deputies, was sentenced Friday to 20 years in state prison. Jose Rangel, 32, pleaded guilty in April to attempted robbery, shooting at an occupied vehicle and felony evading as part of a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped two related charges. During a hearing Friday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson certified the plea deal and impo ..read more

PERRIS (CNS) – An evacuation order is in place Wednesday for the Juniper Fire west of Perris that has burned 55 acres, and damaged or destroyed several structures. The evacuation order is for the area surrounding the fire, south of Blue Sky Road, east of Baquero Road, west of Maywood Club Road, and north of Rocky Hills Road, as of 9 p.m. Tuesday. The fire that erupted Tuesday about 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Juniper and Santa Rosa Mine roads, between Gavilan Hills and Perris, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. Multiple engine and hand crews from the county, Hemet Fire D ..read more

PERRIS (CNS) – A brush fire that erupted Tuesday just west of Perris blackened roughly 55 acres and damaged multiple structures, prompting mandatory evacuations in the outlying area. The blaze was reported at about 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Juniper and Santa Rosa Mine roads, between Gavilan Hills and Perris, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The agency said multiple engine and hand crews from the county, Hemet Fire Department, Corona Fire Department and Murrieta Fire & Rescue were sent to the location and encountered flames moving at a rapid rate to the east amid ..read more

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A 71-year-old convicted sex offender accused of carjacking a Perris woman was charged Tuesday with auto theft and other offenses. Terry Grant Chappell of Washington was arrested Thursday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Along with auto theft, Chappell is charged with carjacking, possession of a stolen vehicle and failing to register as a convicted sex offender with local law enforcement. The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $60,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, was slated to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afte ..read more

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Fourth of July celebrations will get underway this weekend in Riverside County, ahead of America’s 247th birthday. On Saturday, the city of Murrieta will be combining pre-Independence Day festivities with a 32nd “Birthday Bash” for the municipality, which incorporated in 1991. There will be an outdoor concert, food vendors, a kids play zone and pyrotechnics after nightfall in California Oaks Sports Park. The city of Menifee’s traditional “Independence Day Celebration” also will be held Saturday in Wheatfield Park, beginning at 4 p.m., featuring a parade along La Piedra Road ..read more

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Two projects intended to improve transportation infrastructure in Riverside County may receive nearly $45 million in state funding, officials said Wednesday. According to the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the California Transportation Commission is considering appropriating the funds in support of the Mid-County Enhancement Program, which is focused on congestion relief throughout Hemet, Moreno Valley, Perris and San Jacinto. “Transportation solutions in (these areas) are long past due,” RCTC Chair Robert Magee said. “I am happy to hear the state is looking at o ..read more

PERRIS (CNS) – A man was fatally assaulted in Perris, but the circumstances were unclear Wednesday. The attack happened about 9 a.m. Tuesday in the 22000 block of San Jacinto Avenue, near Marshall Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Sgt. Jose Ayala said patrol deputies were called to the location to investigate “an assault with a deadly weapon” and found the victim, whose identity was not immediately released, dead. Central Homicide Unit detectives were summoned and took over the investigation. There was no word on a possible motive, or whether a suspect had been id ..read more

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department sought the public’s help Monday to find an inmate who escaped from an “alternative custody placement” facility in Perris. Robert Staricka, 48, is white, 6 feet tall, weighs 225 pounds, and has blond hair and brown eyes. Staricka has a number of tattoos, including “STARICKA” on the upper part of his back, a rose with “Mom” underneath it on the left side of his neck, and a swastika near his left armpit. Staricka is known to frequent Riverside, Lake Elsinore, and Murrieta, the sheriff’s department reported. Anyone seeing him was urged to ..read more

MORENO VALLEY (CNS) – A 19-year-old man was arrested Friday for allegedly stabbing a teenager during an altercation at a Moreno Valley residence. Geraldy Diaz of Moreno Valley was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m. at Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he went to seek treatment after injuring his hand during the alleged attack. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Diaz and a 17- year-old Perris boy, whose identity was not disclosed, were involved in a dispute about 12:20 a.m. in the 24000 block of JFK Drive, near Heacock Street. Sheriff’s offic ..read more