Local News

Department of Justice Awards More Than $125 Million in Grants Under The Stop School Violence Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice today announced nearly $126 million in funding to advance school safety under the STOP School Violence Act. The grants, awarded by the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), will help institute safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, support school violence prevention efforts, provide training to school personnel and students, and implement evidence-based threat assessments.

“The Justice Department has no greater responsibility than protecting Americans from harm,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Schools must be safe places to learn, and today’s investment of more than $125 million under the STOP School Violence Act will help ensure that they are.”

“Every child deserves a safe childhood and that includes a safe environment at school,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. “The grants that the Department of Justice announced today will help ensure our students can learn and thrive in school.”

The Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (the “STOP School Violence Act”) gives the Justice Department the authority to provide awards directly to states, units of local government, Indian tribes, and public agencies (such as school districts and law enforcement agencies) to improve security at schools and on school grounds through evidence-based school safety programs. It also provides grants to ensure a positive school climate by helping students and teachers recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence.

The 78 BJA annual awards, totaling almost $74 million, are intended to support training and education for school personnel and students on preventing violence against others and themselves, including anti-bullying training and specialized training for school officials to respond to mental health crises. Funds also help develop and implement multidisciplinary threat assessment or intervention teams and design technology solutions such as anonymous reporting systems, hotlines and websites.

The COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) provides up to 75% of the funding for school safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools. The 153 SVPP awards, totaling almost $52 million, are statutorily obligated to be used for coordination with law enforcement; training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence; locks, lighting and other deterrent measures; technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and other measures that provide a significant improvement in security.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime-fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to agency for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 states, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.

MS-13 Member Sentenced for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

FRESNO - Lorenzo Amador, 23, of Mendota, was sentenced on December 17, 2021, by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd to five years and three months in prison for assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Amador was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a violent criminal street gang that engages in racketeering activity, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. On August 12, 2018, Amador and fellow MS-13 members kicked, hit, and stabbed a member of a rival gang in the back with a knife, slicing his diaphragm and sending him to the emergency room where he had to have life-saving surgery.

René Turner Sample Wins Prestigious National Award

FRESNO - René Turner Sample, co-owner of Freedman Law and Cornwell & Sample, has been named as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), one of the premier legal associations in North America. The first female attorney from Fresno to receive this prestigious honor, Sample was inducted during the ACTL's recent annual meeting in Chicago.

"I am proud to be included among the most experienced trial lawyers in the country, and more importantly the lawyers whose careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethics and professionalism— values to which I have tried to make the foundation of my career," Sample said.

Air Force Police Officer Charged with Over $250,000 in Unemployment Insurance Fraud During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic

FRESNO - A five-count indictment was unsealed today following the arrest of Trevon Miller, 28, a military police officer at Edwards Air Force Base, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Miller is charged with mail fraud for submitting fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in over 30 states during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. From at least April 2020 through June 2020, Miller submitted the fraudulent claims using his former identity of Trevon Rodney and told the state workforce agencies that administer the unemployment insurance system that he was unemployed when he was enlisted in the Air Force the whole time. In 2016, Miller had legally changed his last name from Rodney before he joined the Air Force. The state workforce agencies and the United States were subject to a potential loss of more than $250,000. Miller used the money for his own benefit, including making cash withdrawals.

Modesto Man Charged with Illegal Firearms Possession

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Ryan Brandon Bailey, 40, of Modesto, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on Aug. 14, 2021, Bailey possessed a rifle in Modesto. Bailey was previously convicted of second-degree burglary in 2012 and being a felon in possession of ammunition in 2015 and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.