News

Flagrant TITLE IX Violations at Madera High May Cost Taxpayers Millions

MADERA - The first thing that comes to mind when walking through the one-year-old boy's baseball stadium at Madera High School is, “Wow! What a beautiful monument to the game of high school baseball.”

From the aluminum stadium seats that wrap around the infield from dugout to dugout, the granite walls with the lists of past Championship teams, the concession stand with handicap accessible restrooms, padded backstops, multi-inning scoreboard, school name and logo cut into the batter’s box, batter’s eye screen in center field all the way up to the air-conditioned press box that sits atop of this brand new $2 million facility.

Drug Conspiracy Convictions of Former Fresno Deputy Police Chief Affirmed on Appeal

FRESNO - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions of former Fresno deputy police chief Keith Foster, 55, for criminal conspiracies involving heroin and marijuana, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today.

On May 23, 2017, a federal jury in Fresno found Foster guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. On November 13, 2017, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Foster to four years in prison. Foster then filed an appeal, challenging his two criminal convictions. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Foster’s claims and upheld his convictions.

President of Modesto Hells Angels Chapter Among Four Defendants Charged in Drug Conspiracy

FRESNO - A criminal complaint was unsealed today against four individuals, including the president of the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Charged in the criminal complaint are Modesto residents Randy Picchi, 61, president of the club; his wife Tina Picchi, 51; Michael Mize, 61; and Michael Pack, 32, a prospect with the club. Randy Picchi, Tina Picci, and Mize were arrested today and are in custody. They will appear in federal court on Wednesday in Fresno.

ACLU Claims Madera County Violated California’s Sanctuary Law in Complying with ICE: Demand $750,000 in Restitution

MADERA — The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a complaint Wednesday with Madera County for illegally re-detaining and transferring former resident Ivan Santos Cuevas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which then deported him to Mexico.

According to the ACLU the Madera County Jail officers’ actions were a flagrant violation of the California Values Act. Santos Cuevas’ case is just the latest example of a local law enforcement agency violating California’s sanctuary law, which prohibits alerting federal immigration agents of an individual’s release date from county jail and transferring him unless he has been convicted of certain crimes. These include a serious or violent felony or criminal offenses that can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor.

Fresno Man Arrested in Hit-n-Run of 15 Year Old Madera Girl

MADERA – Madera Police have made an arrest in the June 14^th hit and run that left a 15-year-old high school girl in the hospital in critical condition with major injuries. The incident occurred at the intersection of Monterey and Olive Avenue.

With the benefit of several surveillance cameras along Howard Road and Olive Avenue, Madera Police identified their suspect as Paul Cano (27) of Fresno. The very same black 2016 Hyundai Elantra that struck the high school girl is also featured in several advertisements for Cano’s business VFF (Valley Family Fitness) In-Home Fitness.

Twenty-One Drug Traffickers Associated With Nuestra Familia Arrested On Federal Charges In Kings And Tulare Counties

FRESNO - As part of a multi-agency operation, over 50 individuals were arrested in California on federal and state charges in connection with their drug-trafficking activities after investigation into the criminal activities of individuals associated with the Nuestra Familia prison gang.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office, Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, and Hanford Police Chief Parker Sever.

Felony Arrest of Madera County Man Illegally Discharging a Firearm

MADERA COUNTY - On June 10, 2019 at approximately 10:38am, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in the 17000 block of Avenue 12 regarding a man who was outside of his home shooting a gun into the air. Corporal Matt Kutz and Detective Richard Gutierrez arrived at the scene and contacted witnesses who reported the subject had been indiscriminately firing a small semi-automatic handgun into the air less than 20 feet from where they had been sitting. The subject, later identified as Liverato Zavala, went inside the home when deputies arrived.

Sergeant Mark Stritzel and Deputy Marcos Plascencia arrived on scene and established a perimeter outside the residence. Numerous announcements, in English and Spanish, were made requesting that Zavala exit the residence.