News

OAKHURST – Madera County Sheriff’s Detectives are investigating an incident that occurred in Oakhurst during the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Shortly before 3:30am dispatchers received a report of a stabbing in the area of Road 427 and Road 426 in Oakhurst.

Deputies arrived on the scene and contacted an adult female victim with injuries from a stab wound. The victim was transported via life flight to a regional hospital in Fresno for treatment of her injuries. Based on preliminary details, detectives believe this was an isolated incident.

MERCED COUNTY – Governor Gavin Newsom today proposed a $5.1 billion package of immediate drought response and long-term water resilience investments to address immediate, emergency needs, build regional capacity to endure drought and safeguard water supplies for communities, the economy, and the environment. The Governor’s proposal comes as part of a week-long tour highlighting the Administration’s comprehensive recovery plan tackling the most persistent challenges facing California.

MADERA – The State Center Community College District broke ground Friday for the Academic Village 2 building at Madera Community College, paid for through Measure C funding. The new Academic Village 2 building will house general education classrooms, distance learning classrooms, a student success center, an expanded library, and labs for nursing, computers, and criminology. Plans also include expanded parking on the west side of campus.

In November 2017, Darden Architects was approved as the project architect. Academic Village 2 was approved by DSA on January 26, 2021. BMY Construction Group, Inc. was awarded the contract on April 6, 2021.  The $35M project is anticipated to open in the fiscal year 2022-2023.

MADERA - Madera Police are investigating a shooting Tuesday evening that sent a man to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck. The shooting took place in the parking lot of the Madera Walmart on West Cleveland Avenue near the store's entrance where a man brought a knife to a gunfight.

The initial investigation revealed that a verbal argument in the parking lot led to one man brandishing a knife and charging another man. The man brandishing the knife continued advancing on the unarmed man, who backed away approximately 30 feet.

SACRAMENTO -  Sandeep S. Walia, M.D., a Professional Medical Corporation (Walia PMC), and Sandeep S. Walia, M.D., the corporation’s owner and president, has agreed to pay a combined $70,000 in damages and penalties to resolve allegations that they knowingly made a false statement to obtain a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

As part of the settlement, Walia PMC also agreed to repay the $430,000 PPP loan that it obtained because of the false statement, with interest.

FRESNO -  Eleuterio Rosario Martinez, 49, of Porterville, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 42 months in prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, an investigation into drug trafficking primarily in the Tulare County area led to the arrest and indictment of Martinez and 10 others for a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between June 7, 2018, and Jan. 19, 2019.

Martinez delivered the methamphetamine for the conspiracy. During a one-month period of the conspiracy, Martinez made approximately 258 deliveries of methamphetamine at the direction of co-defendant Manuel Delgado-Montenegro, 48, of Porterville. The deliveries were in quantities of 1 ounce or less and totaled at least 3.7 pounds of methamphetamine.