Local News

Fifth District Appellate Court Upholds Decision on Attorneys’ Fees to be Paid by MUSD in Voting Rights Lawsuit

Decision brings a conclusion to a case which started in 2008

MADERA – A state appellate court has upheld a Madera County Superior Court judge’s decision regarding the amount of attorneys’ fees to be paid by the Madera Unified School District as part of a 2008 lawsuit which challenged the school district’s method of electing its governing board members.

In a ruling dated Feb. 28, 2012, the Fifth District Court of Appeals upheld Madera County Superior Court Judge James E. Oakley’s ruling from August 2010, which stated MUSD was responsible to pay only $162,500 in attorneys’ fees to the San Francisco-based Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and Seattle University assistant law school professor Joaquin Avila. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Madera residents Maria Esther Rey, Carlos Uranga and Jesse Lopez Jr.

Former Madera County Judge Eric Wyatt Dies at Age 45

MADERA - Former Madera County Judge Eric Wyatt passed away Saturday at the age of 45 after a three year battle with brain cancer. Judge Wyatt was born in Visalia and raised in Salinas with his younger brother Keith. He graduated from Salinas High School and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis.

He earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and began his law practice in the early 1990’s with the firm of Mortimer and Oakley. He would later become a partner in that firm before leaving to begin his career with the Madera County District Attorney’s Office.

Shots Ring Out on Madera's West Fourth Street

MADERA – Shots rang out in Madera Thursday night on West Fourth Street. While an Officer was finishing an unrelated investigation at Madera Community Hospital the victim of a gunshot wound was brought to the hospital’s emergency room by a relative.

The relative advised the officer that the victim had been beaten up. The Officer responded by calling for medical staff at the hospital to come and treat the victim. He was taken into MCH and provided care before being transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno for more advanced treatment. The victim is in stable condition.

Defense Accuses DA of Hiding New Suspect & Records in Pike Murder

Court Motion States New Suspect Admited To Being in Murder House During Killing

Madera - The Madera County District Attorney's office was on the hot seat Friday morning in a Madera courtroom. Defense attorney's for murder suspects Dustin Gran and Brittney Navarra accused the DA's office and deputy district attorney Edmond Gil of withholding recordings and documents from their clients delaying the setting of a trial date. They also accused the DA of failing to disclose an investigation that might reveal a new suspect in the murder of Krista Pike
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Chairman of Yosemite Motor Speedway Convicted of Fraud in New Mexico

MADERA - Investors were shocked to learn of the criminal past of head of the Yosemite Motor Speedway. Madera Online has uncovered forty-five pages of documents that show that the chairman of the racetrack's board of directors faced seventeen counts of fraud, two counts of racketeering and two attempted 3rd degree felonies in New Mexico less than ten years ago.

After a mistrial and a hung jury, Jerry Lowrie agreed to a plea-bargain deal in which he plead guilty to two counts of fraud. Both counts came with an 18-month prison sentence which was to be served consecutively and one year of state parole. Lowrie's' prison sentence was suspended in favor of 36-months of unsupervised parole and restitution of $10,000. He was credited for time served in pretrial confinement.