Local News

Atwater Police Make Arrest in Weekend Skateboard Park Stabbing

ATWATER – Last weekend Atwater Police Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Kelso Street to conduct a welfare check on a 15-year-old juvenile. This juvenile had Skyped a third party indicating he had been stabbed at a park in Atwater.

While searching for the reporting party, Mercy Hospital in Merced called and said they had a victim and his father in the ER suffering from a stab wound. This person was confirmed to the be the person that the original reporting party was calling dispatch about.

105th Clovis Rodeo Kicks Off Last Weekend of April

CLOVIS - The dedicated volunteers who make sure the Clovis Rodeo tradition remains a part of the community’s future are hard-at-work putting the finishing touches on this year’s 105^th Clovis Rodeo to be held April 25-28, 2019. The same group of volunteers are also busy planning for next year’s rodeo. Always making sure the rodeo grows and gives back to others, while still maintaining the community’s western traditions and the “Clovis Way of Life.”

Kicking things off right for 2020 will be a new entrance for the Clovis Rodeo grounds that will still be off of Clovis Avenue but more in line with 7^th Street and where the Centennial Bronze statue stands. On Friday, March 29 Clovis residents will see the old gas station building in front of the grounds raised to make-way for the new entrance that will include four traffic lanes into the rodeo parking lot, creating a more accessible, safer entry and exit for rodeo guests. A new digital message board along Clovis Avenue will be a part of the improvements.

Major Bust Made in Felony Mail and Identity Theft Case

FRESNO - On Friday morning after a four month investigation, Justin Deger of Fresno was arrested for felony identity theft and mail theft. Deger came on the Fresno Police Department's Northwest District Investigation Unit radar after several arrests for burglary. Each time during those arrests, Deger was found in possession of large amounts of mail not belonging to him.

Northwest Investigation Unit detectives and staff at the district station began receiving information from the public regarding a silver Ford Mustang being captured on Ring video surveillance system cameras. The vehicle was either seen driving through neighborhoods in the early morning hours or seen stopped in front of mailboxes removing mail. Information was provided via the Nextdoor.com social media site regarding the same suspicious vehicle.

Fresno PD Hit The Streets Looking for Drunk Drivers

FRESNO - Officers from the Fresno Police Department will be out tonight looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. DUI saturation patrols will take place in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests. In 2017, 1,120 people were killed in alcohol-involved crashes on California roads. In 2017, the Fresno Police Department investigated 360 DUI collisions which have claimed 15 lives and resulted in another 121 injuries.

In recent years, California has seen an increase in drug-impaired driving crashes. The Fresno Police Department reminds drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.

Merced County Sheriff’s Disrupt Prostitution Operation in Santa Nella

SANTA NELLA – Late last week the Merced County Sheriff Tactical and Reconnaissance (STAR) Team along with Merced Police Department's Disruptive Area Response Team (DART) and Gang Violence Suppression Unit (GSVU) conducted a prostitution/sex trafficking sting operation.

The operation took place at a motel in the Santa Nella area. STAR Team investigators worked with DART members in advance to make arrangements with the suspects through online dating sites and other forums used for the sex trade.