Crime & Safety
RivCo Sheriff's Deputies Make Arrest in Toddler's Beating Death
A 24-year-old Thermal man was apprehended while trying to cross the border into Mexico, sheriff's officials said.
A man suspected in the beating death of a 2-year-old boy was in custody in Indio Tuesday in lieu of $1 million bail, jail records indicated.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department says 24-year-old Daniel Valenzuela was found trying to cross the border in Calexico early Sunday morning and arrested.
"Valenzuela was transported to the Thermal Sheriff Station for further investigation," Sheriff's Sergeant Jeff Buompensiero said. "Based upon the investigation, Valenzuela was arrested for homicide."
Deputies were called to a Thermal home on May 17 for a medical aid incident, and found little Jorge Lizarraga with injuries which required hospitalization, according to Sheriff's Sergeant Jim Erickson.
"Upon arrival deputies found a two-year-old child, identified as Jorge Lizarraga, suffering from unexplained injuries," Erickson said in a news release.
"Jorge was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," according to the sergeant.
Homicide investigators were called out to the scene, and an autopsy was ordered. Blunt force trauma was ruled as the cause of death.
Valenzuela is due in court in Indio on Thursday.
–City News Service contributed to this report.
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