Kings County Man Charged with Distributing Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Through the U.S. Mail
FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment today against Martin Cervantes, 26, of Corcoran, charging him with four counts of distributing narcotics and one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, from October to December 2021, Cervantes mailed three packages each containing over 500 grams of fentanyl powder and one package containing over 2,000 grams of methamphetamine from post offices in Fresno. The packages were destined for addresses in the Midwest, but were intercepted. On January 6, 2022, Cervantes also possessed over 500 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.
Proactive Traffic Stops Result in Multiple Madera County Arrests
New Jersey Man Indicted in Fraud Scheme to Steal California Unemployment Insurance Benefits
SACRAMENTO - A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment today against Eric Michael Jaklitsch, 40, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, charging him with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. On Dec. 8, 2021, Jaklitsch was arrested on a federal criminal complaint at his home in New Jersey. He made his initial appearance in the District of New Jersey and was ordered detained for transport to the Eastern District of California.
According to court documents, between October 2020 and December 2021, Jaklitsch executed a scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (EDD) by filing at least 78 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with EDD, seeking Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and other benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. During the scheme, Jaklitsch collected personal identifying information of numerous individuals — including names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers — and used their identities to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.
Former Madera County Sheriff Passes: Ovonual “Berk” Berkley (87)
MADERA - Ovonual “Berk” Berkley passed away peacefully on the afternoon of January 22, 2022. He was born on November 24th, 1934 in Bristow, Oklahoma, to Finies and Hazel Berkley. He was later joined by two sisters, Donna and Linda. When he was in the first grade, he met the girl who would become the love of his life, Maxine Brown.
When he was young, the family moved back and forth between Madera and Oklahoma several times, finally settling in Madera for good. He attended Ripperdan and Lincoln Elementary Schools, and graduated from Madera High School in 1953, and shortly thereafter, he and Maxine were married at the home of his parents. During their 67 years of marriage, they had two children - daughter, Shella, in 1954, and son, Randy, in 1958.