Local News

Fresno Bound Greyhound Crash Injures One - Bus Driver Arrested for DUI

FRESNO – A Greyhound Bus driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs following a single vehicle accident Sunday morning on Highway 180 east of Freeway 99. Ten people were injured; one was transported to Community Regional Medical Center.

According to the California Highway Patrol, thirty-five people were aboard the bus that was traveling from Sacramento to Fresno. As the bus was entering a transition road to Highway 180, the driver lost control of the vehicle as the road veered to the left, smashing into a guardrail.

Armed Carjacking Suspect Arrested in Merced

MERCED - Early Wednesday morning Merced Police Department Officers responded to a report of a carjacking that occurred in the area of “Q” Street & West 5th Street in Merced.

Officers made contact with the male victim who told them he had met up with an individual, later identified as Ernesto Antonio Zaragoza Guzman (19) of Merced. As the two of them were sitting in the victim’s vehicle, Guzman motioned like he had a gun and told the victim to get out of the car. Guzman then fled the area with the victim’s vehicle.

Former Amazon Employee Sentenced to Home Detention for Making a False Bomb Threat

SACRAMENTO - U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley sentenced Kao Xiong, 34, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, today to time served plus five months of home detention and three years of supervised release for making a false bomb threat, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said today. According to court documents, in August 2017, while working for Amazon Xiong was living in Oroville, Xiong mailed a letter to a company in Sunnyvale, informing the company that Xiong and others were going to bomb the location.

The bomb threat was reported to the Sunnyvale Police Department who responded to the scene to investigate, and ultimately reported the incident to the FBI. The letter was identified as one of approximately 150 letters Xiong mailed between January and December 2017, containing false information about bombings and assassinations.

Fresno MAGEC Make Arrest in Rice Bowl Restaurant Burglary Case

MADERA RANCHOS - On March 4, 2019, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service for a commercial burglary at the Rice Bowl Restaurant, a local family-owned business in the Madera Ranchos. The owner of the restaurant reported to MCSO Cadet I Brandon Smith that an unknown adult male entered the business earlier that day and took approximately $1,500 cash.

Security footage was obtained, and after a several week investigation by MCSO Detectives, a possible identification of the suspect was made. In cooperation with the Fresno area M.A.G.E.C. Team, Jacob Sonny Lopez, a 34 year old Clovis resident, was taken into custody on an unrelated charge. While in custody in Fresno County, MCSO Detective Luis Padgett interviewed Lopez regarding the burglary at the Rice Bowl.

Jury Convicts Roseville Man of 3 Counts of Wire Fraud in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

SACRAMENTO - After a seven–day trial, a federal jury found Erik Hermann Green, 37, of Roseville, guilty on Tuesday of three counts of wire fraud in a mortgage fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to evidence presented at trial, Green was part of a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme to defraud the New Century Mortgage Company by submitting false documentation about employment, income and assets, including fraudulent loan applications and other altered bank documents.

Around October 2006, when Green submitted his fraudulent loan applications to obtain a loan for $820,000, he was a licensed real estate sales person and managed approximately 15 loan officers. As part of the scheme, Green received a check for $100,000 that was funneled through a shell company at the close of escrow. Green used the funds for personal expenses.