News

MADERA RANCHOS - A newborn baby girl was found in the middle of Avenue 13 ½ near Road 36 in the Madera Ranchos early Monday morning. Valley Children’s Hospital officials believe the baby was only 6-8 hours old when found. The baby was found wearing just a onsie with no diaper and a blanket by a local newspaper carrier while he was on his route. The baby's umbilical cord was still attached.

The carrier immediately brought the baby to his car to try and warm her up then called 911. California Highway Patrol and paramedics were dispatched to the area where the child was found within minutes.  EMS transported the baby to VCH were she is reportedly in good condition despite being left in the freezing cold for around 30 minutes. The baby is now in the protective custody of the county of Madera's child protective services at VCH's neonatal intensive care unit.

FRESNO - A Fresno County Sheriff’s deputy has booked 27 year old Raquel Gonzalez of Fresno into the Fresno County Jail. She faces felony charges of child endangerment, evading police and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence (DUI). Around 2:00 am on Saturday, a Fresno County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a suspected drunk driver at Highway 99 and Highway 180 in Fresno.

The driver, later identified as Raquel Gonzalez, refused to pull over and a pursuit ensued, with the suspect reaching a top speed of 70 mph. Gonzalez used the Chestnut off-ramp to exit Hwy. 180. She drove to a home on the 4700block of E. Thomas Ave. and stopped. Gonzalez got out of her car holding a three year old girl, later determined to be her niece. The deputy detained Gonzalez and had a California Highway Patrol officer respond to evaluate her for DUI. Gonzalez failed the sobriety tests and was arrested.

SACRAMENTO -  A 68-year-old retired Air Force master sergeant from Fairfield indicted in May of 2017 on federal child sex predator charges was sentenced Thursday to 17 years and eight months in prison for attempted online enticement of a minor, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, in April 2017, Donald Threatt began conversing through the Kik Messenger mobile app with an individual who identified herself as “Sarah,” a 15-year-old girl who was interested in online games, soccer, and track.

Off and on over the course of many days, Threatt used Kik to tell “Sarah” the various sexual things he wanted to do to her. He discussed and agreed with the purported minor that he would visit her residence on Beale Air Force Base while her mother was away. According to the Kik chat, Threatt suggested blindfolding her and tying her up with rope. He stated that he would engage in various sexual acts with her and proposed that they take photos and a video of their sexual activity. Threatt arranged to meet her at her residence on May 12, 2017, after her mother had left for the weekend.

MADERA – Late Thursday evening the officers from the Madera Police Department shot and killed a driver who was wielding a knife following a traffic collision on the northbound exit to Freeway 99 at Cleveland Avenue. Officers were responding to a call of a suspected drunk driver traveling on the wrong side of the road on South Gateway Drive.

Madera Police dispatchers received a call around 10:00pm that the suspect was driving in an erratic manner. The caller stayed on the phone with dispatch as he followed the car onto Freeway 99 from the H Street entrance, through the city of Madera before the suspect crashed into a black car at the Cleveland exit on the north side of town.

FRESNO - Nicholas Lobkowski, 39, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to seven years and eight months in prison for carjacking, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on September 28, 2017, Lobkowski carjacked a victim at knifepoint. Lobkowski fled in the vehicle and was located by police. Lobkowski drove recklessly, proceeded through a stop sign without stopping, and crashed into two vehicles, causing injuries to several of the occupants.

SACRAMENTO -  Timothy Holt, 27, formerly of Susanville, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release for transportation of obscene matters, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, the father of a teenaged girl reported that Holt, as an adult correctional officer, had been sexually propositioning his daughter over an internet messaging service. Law enforcement officers took over the girl’s messaging account. Posing as the teenaged girl, officers continued to chat with Holt and agreed to meet him. Officers arrested Holt when he arrived at the meet location.