RivCo​ ​Pair Busted With Hundreds Of Oxycodone Pills, Gun: ​Cops

PALM DESERT, CA - A former convict and a woman were arrested at a Palm Desert hotel for possessing a stash of illegal drugs and a loaded firearm, sheriff's officials said Sunday.

The contraband was found after deputies attempted to conduct a parole compliance check Saturday afternoon on Adrian Mondragon, 24, of Coachella at the hotel where he was staying, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

However, when authorities arrived at the hotel, in the 74000 block of Frank Sinatra Drive, Mondragon's room was unoccupied, according to Sgt. Paul Heredia.

Deputies later spotted him hiding in the hotel's rear parking lot before he allegedly ran away, tossing aside a bag of oxycodone pills in the process, but was arrested a short distance away, said Heredia.

A woman who had been hiding with Mondragon -- later identified as Noelle Markowitz, 25, of La Quinta -- was also arrested and allegedly hid a bag containing a loaded 9mm handgun, several hundred oxycodone pills and cash in a bush near the rear of the hotel.

Sheriff's officials said a search of their room allegedly turned up cocaine and methamphetamine.

The pair were booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of various drug and gun crimes.

— City News Service