In our series of our top stories of four part-series of the top stories of 2020 is the arrest of Nicole Packer, 35, of Morongo Valley, who was arrested nearly 18 months after a crash that killed two teenagers. Prosecutors say that Packer was driving under the influence and at a high rate of speed when her 2018 white Ford Fiesta crashed into a Toyota Prius just west of Rosella Drive on Highway 62 on June 12, 2019. Hart Campbell, 14, and Ruby Campbell,17, both of Los Angeles, died at local hospitals a few hours later. Packer was arrested December 2 and charged with two counts of murder, DUI causing injury, driving with a suspended license, and speeding while DUI. Nicole Packer pleaded not guilty to all charges December 22. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more information about a murder in Joshua Tree that stunned local residents…
In April, many Morongo Basin residents were stunned by the stabbing death of a popular employee at a Joshua Tree gas station. Shane Castro, 24, of Twentynine Palms, and Anthony Frugoli, 26, were stabbed April 10 by David Urrea, 50, of Joshua Tree. Castro was driven by friends to Hi-Desert Medical Center where he died. Frugoli’s injuries were not life-threatening. Urrea had fled by the time deputies arrived, but a Sheriff’s helicopter located him near Broadway and Copper Mountain in Joshua Tree. Deputies said when Urrea threatened them, they shot and killed him.
And our final top story of 2020 is the conviction of a former Twentynine Palms Marine for murdering a Murrieta man and burying his body in Joshua Tree National Park in 2018. Curtis Krueger, 32, was sentenced in October to 18 years to life for bludgeoning to death Henry Stange, 54, and enlisting the help of his girlfriend, Ashlie Stapp, 29, to clean up the crime scene and help him bury the body. Stapp traded sex for drugs with Stange, but she told Krueger that Stange had raped her.
