Two Indio court clerks indicted for allegedly sharing a sealed search warrant
Two Riverside County Superior Court employees have been indicted for allegedly printing and sharing between them a warrant that had been sealed by a judge.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office announced the indictment Wednesday, a day after the two were scheduled to be arraigned on one count each of conspiracy to commit a crime, a felony. Apparently, the hearing was called off and is now rescheduled for August.
A criminal jury indicted Angela Franz, 46, and Michelle Valdez, 57, on April 14, but the indictment remained sealed until their first attempted arraignment Tuesday.
The two were working in January 2020 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio when Franz printed and shared with Valdez a search warrant that had been sealed by a judge, according to a press release from prosecutors.
The news release described the two as former court employees, but The Desert Sun could not confirm their employment status Wednesday.
The district attorney's office did not provide a suspected motivation for why the two may have been sharing the sealed document. Neither Franz's nor Valdez's attorneys could be reached for comment Wednesday.
The two were said to have been arrested and posted bail soon after the indictment in April, but The Desert Sun could not find a county jail record of their arrest.
Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverside County court clerks indicted on conspiracy charges
