Local News

FRESNO - The owner of a Bakersfield truck driving school was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to sell California commercial driver’s licenses to unqualified drivers, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Paramjit Singh Mangat, 56, of Bakersfield, to 14   months in prison and a $10,000 fine for his conviction on one count of unlawful production of an identification document and aiding and abetting. The court also finalized an order for forfeiture of $100,000 that had been seized as proceeds from the fraud scheme.

According to court documents, Mangat operated driving schools in Bakersfield that ostensibly provided training to those seeking to obtain driver’s licenses, including Akal Truck Driving School and Akal Driving School. When students had difficulty passing DMV examinations, in return for money, Mangat offered to assist them in obtaining fraudulently issued, yet official licenses through Mangat’s contact Javier Jesus Hernandez-Herrera, 56, then a DMV employee.

FRESNO - Javier Ochoa-Anaya, 49, residing in Denair, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking offenses, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to the plea agreement, Ochoa received a shipment of 54 kilograms of methamphetamine on Sept. 3, 2019. Ochoa enlisted the aid of co-defendant Victoria Rodriguez, to assist him in weighing and packaging the methamphetamine.

On Sept. 5, 2019, agents seized the methamphetamine during a search of Ochoa’s vehicle. In addition, agents seized a cooler stored with the methamphetamine that contained 1 kilogram of cocaine, five loaded firearms, a bullet proof vest, several high capacity magazines, a substance used to dilute the drugs, and a digital scale.

SACRAMENTO - A Stockton man was arrested on Tuesday and charged with production and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, from April to June 2020, Jonathan Thornton, 36, produced images depicting a seven-year-old engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He then distributed the images on a darknet website. Thornton operates a photography business called Thornton Photography.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mira Chernick is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Thornton faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

MADERA – Here is another lesson in the power of one social media post’s ability to ruin your life, a Madera County Deputy Sheriff has been fired for using the “N-Word” in a Twitter post he wrote (about a car) when he was nineteen years old, five years before joining the Sheriff’s Department.

Damian Tabatabai has been with the department for nearly six months, but that ended Saturday when acting sheriff Tyson Pogue personally fired the deputy 90 minutes after becoming aware of the post with the racial slur. Department Public Information Officer Sarah Jackson said in a press release, “This conversation involved a deputy sheriff who was hired about 6 months ago and contained an extremely offensive racial slur. This conversation is believed to have occurred about 5 years before his employment with our agency.”