Jef Harmatz is the co-host of Z107.7’s “Morning Show with Cody and Jef” and Z107.7’s News Director. He has worked as a journalist, cartoonist, chef, and delivery driver. He is known nationally for his writing and comics in publications like TimeOut,…

Yucca Valley Contracts Shopping Cart Retrieval Company for Beautification

If you’ve seen loose shopping carts around The Town of Yucca Valley, city officials say they are becoming more common, and so this week they announced a partnership with Cart Retrieval, Inc. in order to recover stray and abandoned shopping carts. The program is related to a Town Ordinance that was adopted in 2010, which attempts to regulate and address abandoned shopping carts. The Town has contracted with the Rancho Cucomonga-based Cart Retrieval Inc, a company that will send workers to collect…

Nude Man Next To Burning Car Wreck Attempted a Carjacking on Good Samaritans

Correction: We initially had the incorrect last name for the suspect as Alvarez - it has been corrected to Aldaz. We regret the error. A nude man next to a burning car is alleged to have attempted to steal the car of a good Samaritan before disappearing into the wilderness. The California Highway Patrol received a report Tuesday (October 4) of the attempted carjacking on Highway 62, seven miles east of Ironage Road, near the Sheephole Valley Wilderness. The report indicates that the suspect,…

Road Rage Incident Leads to Applebee’s Parking Lot and Arrest for Suspected DUI

A road rage incident ended in the parking lot of the Yucca Valley Applebee’s, where one man was arrested for suspicion of DUI over .08%. On Friday (September 30) afternoon, an unidentified female driving a gray Subaru called 911, indicating that she was being tailgated and followed by an unknown driver in a red Jeep while driving on Twentynine Palms Highway. The Subaru pulled into the parking lot of the Town Center Mall in Yucca Valley, where she said the driver of the red Jeep began to yell at…

A Welfare Check at Morongo Valley Gas Station Leads to Arrest for Suspicion of DUI

A welfare check at the Morongo Valley Chevron station turned into an arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence. According to a Sheriff’s report, Jonathan Angulo, a 30 year-old resident of La Puente, parked his Jeep at a pump at the gas station, located at 47909 Twentynine Palms Highway, shortly after noon on Sunday (October 2). The report said that Angulo entered the gas station’s convenience store, purchased an unspecified amount of gasoline and a beer, and returned to his Jeep. The…

Suspect In Lucerne Valley Murder Arrested by SWAT Team

A suspect in a Lucerne Valley murder was arrested on Saturday (October 1) afternoon. On Friday (September 30), Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call from a residence in the 31800 block of Bumpkin road in Lucerne Valley, where they found an unidentified man who had been shot. Medical aid was called, and when they arrived, they declared the man dead. The Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division, Homicide Detail assumed the investigation, and identified a suspect in the murder, Alberto…

Burglars Take $6.5 Million in Guns and Goods from Joshua Tree Commercial Property

Thieves robbed a Joshua Tree commercial property of a reported $6.5 million in guns and goods last week. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of a burglary at 62147 Desertair Road near downtown Joshua Tree Friday, September 23. Though the commercial property is not currently operating as a business, person who reported the burglary claimed that thieve broke into the building and stole items that were being stored there, estimating that the total cost of the stolen items…

Man Unintentionally Speeds Motorcycle Past Marine Base Checkpoint, Arrested for Suspicion of DUI

A Yucca Valley man was cited for trespassing and arrested for suspicion of Driving Under the Influence after speeding past the checkpoint at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base. Just before midnight on Thursday, September 22, staff at the Marine Corps Base report that Devon Ulibarri, a 37 year-old civilian from Yucca Valley, drove his Harley Davidson motorcycle past base checkpoints at the main entrance. They report that Ulibarri quickly turned his motorcycle around, at which point military…

Man Suspected of Assault with a Deadly Weapon While Chasing Down Car on Quad

After receiving reports Sunday morning (September 25) of an armed man on a quad runner chasing down a car, the County Sheriff’s Deputies have arrested a suspect: a convicted felon from Twentynine Palms. At around 8:45 a.m., a 36 year-old Joshua Tree man, driving near the intersection of Mojave Rd and White Sands Dr, dialed 911 from his cellular phone and reported that a man with a gun was chasing him on a quad. The Joshua Tree man told Sheriffs that the driver of the quad at one point tried to…

“Not Fade Away” free concert at Tortoise Rock Casino tonight

"Not Fade Away," Featuring Hits From Buddy Holly, Elvis, the Beatles, Plays at Tortoise Rock Casino Tonight The music continues this weekend with the free concert series at Tortoise Rock Casino in 29 Palms. Jef Harmatz joins us with information about tonight’s free concert featuring the "Not Fade Away." "Not Fade Away" is the featured act tonight, and if you don't know them, you'll know their music. They'll be playing amped up renditions of…

Passenger Commandeers Car During Traffic Stop in Twentynine Palms, Leading Sheriffs on 6 Mile Pursuit

During a traffic stop in Twentynine Palms, the passenger of a stopped vehicle grabbed the wheel and led authorities on a nearly seven mile pursuit. On Sunday (September 19), Sheriff's Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a 2003 Volkswagen for expired registration near the intersection of Amboy Road and Valley Mountain Road. The Deputy reports that, while speaking with drive outside of the vehicle, the passenger in the front seat, Jocelyn Ramirez, a 33 year-old resident of San Francisco,…