A 48-year-old Cabazon resident is behind bars on suspicion of murder after Riverside County sheriff's deputies discovered human remains in his community before dawn Saturday. Jesse Kennedy was taken into custody without incident in the area of William Avenue and Poplar Street, just south of the Redlands (10) Freeway, and booked into jail on suspicion of homicide.
According to MyNewsLA.com, Riverside County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Carlos Mendoza reported that the remains were found at 12:23 a.m. Saturday. Investigators with the department's Central Homicide Unit identified Kennedy as the suspect and located him in the same area where the remains turned up. He was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center, a facility in French Valley near Murrieta that routinely handles major felony bookings for southwest Riverside County.
Victim's Identity Withheld, Investigation Active
The identity of the victim has not been released, pending notification of family, the outlet's report notes. The homicide investigation remained active as of Saturday, and it was not immediately clear what evidence connects Kennedy to the remains or whether the killing occurred at the William Avenue and Poplar Street location or elsewhere — questions that remain open as detectives continue their work.
Cabazon is an unincorporated community of roughly 2,600 residents tucked into Riverside County's San Gorgonio Pass along Interstate 10, between Banning and the Coachella Valley, according to the Riverside County Planning Department. Day-to-day law enforcement in the small town falls to the Riverside County Sheriff's Cabazon Station, but major violent crimes like this one get handed off to the Central Homicide Unit, a specialized division that investigates homicides across the sheriff's 7,200-square-mile jurisdiction, per the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.
A Pattern of Violent Crime in a Small Town
This is not the first time Cabazon has found itself at the center of a homicide investigation involving recovered remains. In June 2024, deputies arrested a Cabazon resident on murder charges after human remains were found during an investigation into the death of victim Zachary Hemminger, a case Hoodline previously covered. The town also saw a critical shooting in October 2025 that hospitalized one victim and led to the arrest of a Chino Hills suspect.
The recurring violence comes as the sheriff's department faces its own strain. Sheriff Chad Bianco reported a $250 million departmental budget deficit in June 2026 that could force cuts to field deputy positions, according to Beaumont News Source, a reduction that could impact patrol coverage in unincorporated Pass area communities like Cabazon. The Cabazon Station also runs the Pass Area Community Behavioral Health Assessment Team, which pairs deputies with county mental health clinicians to handle crisis calls across Banning, Beaumont, and Cabazon.
Tip Lines Remain Open
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Central Homicide Unit Investigator Nick Ramirez at 951-955-2777. Cabazon Sheriff's Station Investigator Birmingham can also be reached at 951-922-7100. It remains unclear when Kennedy will make his initial court appearance in Riverside County Superior Court.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)