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    • A Desert Hot Springs council member is facing criminal charges
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    A Desert Hot Springs council member is facing criminal charges

    Online Niel Posted on

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    The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has filed two criminal charges, vandalism and false imprisonment, against Desert Hot Springs Councilman Russell Betts for an alleged incident in August.

    Few details about the incident have been released. The vandalism charge is a felony and the false imprisonment charge is a misdemeanor.

    Betts, who has served on the board since 2007, said he had no knowledge of the allegations and had not received any documents as of Monday afternoon. He was unaware of the allegations until a reporter contacted him.

    The DA’s office filed charges against Betts without making any public announcement on Nov. 4, the day before an election in which Betts unsuccessfully sought to unseat Desert Hot Springs Mayor Scott Matas.

    Arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 12, according to court documents.

    The Desert Hot Springs Police Department was not involved in the case, Chief Jim Henson said. He added that when the allegations came to the department’s attention — he did not explain how — police forwarded them to the district attorney’s office for investigation for “transparency” reasons, given Betts’ role as the city’s elected official.

    Because of his unsuccessful bid for mayor, Betts will be off the city council when his term ends next month.

    More: Desert Hot Springs City Council race, a nail-biter; counting of votes continues

    Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley towns of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Contact her at [email protected].

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