Big Valley News
Central Valley's Independent News Source
FRESNO - Madera and Sanger students will have a healthy start to the school year with access to new refillable water bottle stations thanks to a Kaiser Permanente Fresno grant.
Madera and Sanger Unified School Districts each received a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Fresno to purchase and install new refillable water bottle stations. Installation took place over the summer and now most of the schools in both districts have water stations available to students and staff.
FRESNO - The Fresno Police Department arrested 8 impaired drivers while conducting a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on August 24, 2019. The checkpoint was at Palm and Pinedale between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.
In addition, 22 drivers were cited/arrested for operating a vehicle unlicensed or with a suspended/revoked license, No Suspects arrested for illegal drugs, No suspects Arrested on other Criminal Charges, 46 Citations issued, 26 vehicles towed.
FRESNO - U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Hector Hinojosa‑Cisneros, 26, formerly of Taft, today to 12 years in prison for his conviction for receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. In addition, Hinojosa-Cisneros was sentenced to 15 years of supervised release, ordered to pay penalty assessments of $5,100, and $2,500 in restitution to one victim.
According to court documents, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported that hundreds of images of child pornography had been uploaded to a Google Plus Photos account. Investigators in Bakersfield confirmed that Hinojosa-Cisneros controlled the account and executed a search warrant at Hinojosa‑Cisneros’s residence in Taft.
FRESNO - Daniel McMonegal, 36, of San Luis Obispo, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, McMonegal, using the online monikers “Sawgrass,” “Ross4Less,” and “ChristmasTree,” distributed marijuana on various dark web marketplaces, including Dream Market.
McMonegal was also the owner of a marijuana delivery service in San Luis Obispo called West Coast Organix, which claimed to be a nonprofit medical marijuana cooperative. McMonegal then laundered the Bitcoin proceeds of his drug distribution through an undercover agent located in New York. After receiving the bitcoin from McMonegal, the undercover agent mailed parcels of cash to McMonegal in San Luis Obispo and Mariposa. In total, McMonegal distributed approximately 146 kilograms of marijuana in exchange for approximately $476,500 in bitcoin.
MADERA - Madera Fair is pleased to announce the 2019 Madera Fair Table Mountain Concert Series presented by Tecate Light in the all free festival venue with paid gate admission.
Nashville icon Trace Adkins opens the series with his momentous live performance and “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” Thursday, September 5th, 2019 at 7:30 pm. Friday, September 6th, 2019 at 8:00 pm, Loverboy will take folks “Working for the Weekend” into a charged 80’s rock performance showcasing their classic hits and high energy style. The Commodores, “Legends of Motown”, take the stage Saturday, September 8th at 8:00 pm in full force and decades of hits and soulful sounds. The concert series wraps up on Sunday, September 8th with not one, but two groups; Voz de Mando and La Original Banda El Limon at 7:30 pm.
FRESNO STATE - David W. Huerta, chief of the Fresno State Police Department since August 2004, passed away on Aug. 16 surrounded by his family and close friends, after 13 months of hospitalization at UCSF Medical Center. He was 68.
“Chief David Huerta was an exemplary leader of our campus police department,” said President Joseph I. Castro. “He had unwavering integrity, even under the most challenging circumstances. Most importantly, he was devoted to his wife, Cynthia, and his children. David will be deeply missed by all of us at the University.”
FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment today against Marino Cruz Diaz, 21, and David Moreno Florez, 25, both residing in Salinas, charging them with manufacturing more than 1,000 marijuana plants, conspiracy to manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants, and depredation of public lands and resources, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Moreno Florez was also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers located a clandestine marijuana grow site in Sequoia National Forest in Fresno County. On Aug. 2, 2019, officers hiked into the grow site, where they found and arrested Cruz Diaz and Moreno Florez. Moreno Florez was carrying a loaded, AR-15 style rifle. Officers also found a loaded shotgun in the area. The cultivation site was secured, and 2,448 live marijuana plants were eradicated.
