Charges Lowered In Rancho Mirage Series Of Burglaries: Court

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA — A judge found insufficient evidence to hold a 32-year- old man to answer on four felony counts of burglary Wednesday, with prosecutors filing amended charges against the defendant accused in the alleged Rancho Mirage crimes.

The burglary charges against Juan Daniel Rodriguez were discharged during a preliminary hearing Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office orally amended the complaint, adding four misdemeanor counts of vandalism and three misdemeanor counts of trespassing at the conclusion of the hearing, according to spokesman John Hall.

A sentence-enhancing allegation for previously serving jail time was stricken as well.

Rodriguez is next scheduled to appear in court at a pre-trial conference on July 24. He was being held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center without bail.

At around 7 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2022, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Rancho Mirage Special Enforcement Team investigated a report of four burglaries, all in the city, that occurred on July 13, 2022, authorities said.

Rodriguez was alleged to have committed each burglary by kicking in a door to gain entry into the residences.

According to inmate records, he was arrested July 27, 2022 in Cathedral City for violating his parole. He pleaded guilty to that charge two weeks later.

Sheriff's officials say he confessed to the four burglaries when members of the RMSET interviewed Rodriguez.

Court records indicate that Rodriguez was convicted in April 2011 of felony charges for robbery and assault with a gun.