News

Modesto Doctor Pleads Guilty to Illegally Prescribing Opioids

FRESNO - Sawtantra Chopra, 76, of Modesto, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other medication, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Chopra admitted prescribing drugs — including hydrocodone, alprazolam (Xanax), and Promethazine with codeine syrup — outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. These drugs are highly addictive and commonly abused. They affect the central nervous system and may only be prescribed when medically required.

Chopra surrendered his medical license in 2020 as the case was pending.

University Professor Indicted for Trafficking Images of Child Sex Abuse

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against the University of the Pacific Professor Rodger Githens, 45, of West Sacramento, charging him with the receipt and distributing images of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, in late March 2023, Githens, using the profile “Tall laid back,” initiated contact with an account on the Grindr app controlled by an undercover FBI agent. Githens encouraged the undercover FBI agent to establish an account with the Telegram app since it was considered more secure.

Githens several times discussed traveling to Fresno to meet the agent and a supposed 7-year-old niece for sexual purposes. Still, law enforcement served a search warrant at Githens’s residence on April 19, 2023, and seized multiple electronic devices. Agents discovered numerous Telegram chats on Githens’s phone, including several in which he exchanged and commented on videos of young children being sexually abused.

Two Men Indicted for Assaulting Correctional Officers at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Daniel Higgins, 38, of Morro Bay, and Austin Noblitt, 33, of Portland, Oregon, charging each with two counts of assault on a federal officer, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on Nov. 21, 2022, Higgins and Noblitt assaulted two Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officers at U.S. Penitentiary (USP) Atwater in Merced County. Higgins and Noblitt punched the officers repeatedly on their heads and torsos, causing bodily injuries to both officers.

Man Charged with Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Distribution in Madera County

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Jesus Cota Verdugo, 21, of Mexico, charging him with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on April 11, 2023, Verdugo crashed his vehicle into another Chowchilla vehicle and fled from the scene. Law enforcement officers recovered his vehicle on the side of the road with the keys in the ignition and running. Inside the vehicle, officers recovered methamphetamine, fentanyl, an FN Scar rifle, an Aero Precision AR rifle, an Anderson rifle, an HK AR pistol, and a Springfield XD-9 pistol.

Man Found Dead in House Following Fire

MADERA - The Madera County Sheriff’s Communications Center received a call Tuesday evening regarding a suspicious person acting erratically at a property in the 27000 block of Avenue 16 in Madera. Deputies arrived on the scene and encountered an adult male armed with a rifle. He quickly retreated into the primary residence on the property and refused instructions to come out of the residence.

Shortly after 10 pm, deputies observed the man ignite a fire inside the residence. CALFIRE responded to the area, along with Madera PD and EMS. The fire ultimately destroyed the primary residence on the property. Once it was extinguished, a deceased person was found inside the structure. Identification of the deceased individual will be withheld pending formal identification and notification of next of kin.

Eighth Defendant Pleads Guilty to Porterville-Based Drug Ring

FRESNO - Xochil Aguilera, 39, of Porterville, pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Aguilera is the eighth defendant, in this case, to plead guilty. According to court documents, Aguilera served as a courier of drugs and money for the drug trafficking operation. On July 14, 2020, she delivered 800 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl; on Sept. 23, 2020, she received $2,000 from co-defendant James Cox for a half pound of methamphetamine; and on Nov. 12, 2020, she received $1,850 from an undercover agent for the sale of 1,100 fentanyl pills. Aguilera is the wife of Pedro Delgado-Montenegro, 43, who is also charged with participating in the drug trafficking organization. In pleading guilty, Aguilera agreed to the forfeiture of $27,021, which represents drug proceeds seized in this case.

Bakersfield Pain Management Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

FRESNO - Janardhan Grandhe, 65, of Bakersfield, was sentenced to one year and one day of prison today for tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Grandhe was a pain management doctor in Bakersfield, doing business as Central Valley Pain Management (CVPM). In 2017, 2018, and 2019, Grandhe willfully filed false tax returns for CVPM with overstated expenses and false individual tax returns for himself that omitted gross receipts he received. In total, Grandhe evaded personal tax liability exceeding $300,000.