Crime & Safety
Trio Nabbed in Palm Desert Hotel Burglaries
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department says first one woman was caught after allegedly burglarizing a unit, and then two others were taken into custody.
A total of three people were arrested in connection to two separate break-ins at a Palm Desert hotel, sheriff's officials said Friday.
The first alleged burglary was reported Thursday around 8:35 a.m. at the International Lodge located in the 74300 block of El Camino, according to sheriff's Sgt. David Wright.
"Officers arrived and detained Heather Ann Dougherty, age 44 of Palm Desert," he said. "Dougherty was arrested for burglary, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia."
While at the scene, deputies learned about two other people who were spotted leaving from a vacant unit at the location. Though they were apparently seen trying to leave the scene in a tan Chrysler PT Cruiser, they were detained without incident, according to Wright.
Once they had all three people in custody, deputies discovered another burglary had happened in that vacant apartment, Wright said.
It wasn't immediately clear if the three were working together, or if the alleged crimes were connected.
Dougherty was booked into the Indio jail, but posted $35,000 bail on Friday, according to jail records. Cortez was taken to the Banning jail, where she remained as of Friday. Booking records weren't available for Lopez as of this posting.
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