News

SACRAMENTO  -  Pamela Emanuel, 58, of San Jose, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. to 6 years and 3 months in prison and ordered to pay $773,733 in restitution for her role in scheme to defraud the State of California by filing false unemployment insurance claims, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“Pamela Emanuel conspired to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, diverting vital taxpayer resources away from those in dire need of unemployment benefits. Protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance program remains one of our highest priorities, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the unemployment benefits for those who need it, especially during this critical time,” said Quentin Heiden, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor. Office of Inspector General, Los Angeles Region.

MADERA - In the early morning hours of July 5, 2018, the California Highway Patrol received a call of a potential DUI driver in the area of Road 29 ½ and Ave. 8.

When CHP officers arrived, they found the defendant, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez Figueroa, seated in the driver’s seat of a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle given to CHP.

FRESNO - Spiking Prices During a State of an Emergency is a Crime As the State of California and Fresno County continue to respond to the ongoing threat posed by COVID-19, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office is cautioning businesses and scammers not to take advantage of consumers by price gouging.

During a declared state of emergency, it is illegal for a business to increase its prices for essential goods or services by more than 10 percent, unless they can show their own costs have been increased. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California on March 4.

FRESNO - A deputy with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is home recovering after having a bullet graze his upper leg. Around 4:30 pm on Wednesday, a deputy was dispatched to a domestic violence call in an alley near the area of 6th Street and Mayfair Drive South.

While on the way, the deputy contacted a man, walking along McKinley Ave., near Fairfax Ave. This man, later identified as 25-year-old Ricardo Venegas of Mendota, was believed to have possibly been related to the domestic violence disturbance.

FRESNO  -  A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Yunquan Jiang, 48, a Chinese national residing in Fresno, charging him with cultivating and possessing with intent to distribute over 1,000 marijuana plants inside his residence, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on Feb. 7, narcotics detectives served a search warrant at a house on East White Avenue in Fresno. The living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and garage had been retrofitted with fluorescent grow lights suspended from the ceiling, charcoal air-filtration systems, ballasts, and numerous fans. Authorities discovered a total of 1,263 marijuana plants inside the home. Jiang, the sole occupant, was arrested for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale.

MADERA -  At a special emergency meeting of the Madera Unified School District Friday evening, Superintendent Todd Lile called these times unprecedented as he announced the Board of Trustees voted to follow the paths taken at Fresno Unified and Central Unified School Districts and close down all the Madera schools until April 14^th.

Lile said in a written statement following a closed session meeting, “After careful deliberation with health agencies, neighboring school districts, local officials, and an emergency board meeting, effective immediately, Madera Unified will close all schools and programs and plan to reopen Tuesday, April 14, 2020. The closure is a measure to help limit the spread of the new coronavirus or COVID-19. We do not have any presumptive or confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in our schools, but we are taking this step to help protect public health. We believe this is a short term sacrifice for long-term gain.”