Former Indio Court Clerks Indicted on Conspiracy Charges

Two former Indio Court clerks are out on bond after being indicted on conspiring to violate a court order. Angela Franz, 46, and Michelle Valdez, 57, both from Thousand Palms, were placed under arrest Tuesday after an arraignment unsealed an April 14, 2022, criminal grand jury indictment. According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, Franz allegedly pulled a search warrant request from the court system, printed it and showed it to Valdez just before 5 p.m. on January 16, 2020. Prior to that alleged incident, the officer submitting the documents asked the warrant be sealed because it was apart of an ongoing investigation. The warrant was brought to a judge, that same day, signed and ordered to be sealed. The DA’s office says, both clerks were employees of the court system for several years and knew reviewing, printing and sharing sealed documents in this manner was against the law. Franz and Valdez were both arrested for conspiring to commit the crime of violation of a court order, and they posted bail. Their next court date is August 18th at the Hall of Justice in Riverside.