Local News

Man Pleads Guilty to Advertising and Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse

FRESNO - Austen Peppers, 34, of Lawton, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty today to one count each of advertising and distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, law enforcement investigators identified Peppers as someone who sold and offered to sell images of minors being sexually abused. Peppers conducted transactions on the dark web using platforms and applications that he believed were secure and protected him from law enforcement scrutiny.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations offices in Fresno, Chicago, and Oklahoma and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with assistance from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Tactical Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecutes the case with Trial Attorney James Burke IV of the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

Retaliation and Medical Negligence Force Pause Hunger Strike at Central Valley Immigration Detention Facilities,

BAKERSFIELD. – People detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield and the Golden State Annex in McFarland have put a pause on a month-long hunger strike protesting inhumane conditions at the two immigration detention facilities as a result of being subjected to weeks of retaliation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and GEO Group, the for-profit prison company that owns and operates the facilities. Strikers asserted their right to protest for a total of 35 days—from Feb. 17 to March 24, 2023—persisting even as detention center officials engaged in violent tactics to break the strike.

According to detained people and their legal representatives, within several days of the start of the protest, hunger strikers faced retaliation in the form of threats of solitary confinement and bans on family visitation, among other degradations to the conditions of their civil detainment. On March 7, the retaliation took a violent turn.

Fresno County Detectives Arrest Fraudulent Auto Broker; Seek Victims

FRESNO - Detectives with the Fresno H.E.A.T. (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) Task Force have arrested 56-year-old Christopher Michael Asher of Fresno. On March 30th, he was booked into the Fresno County Jail on numerous auto theft and forgery charges. His bail was set at $117,000. He has since posted bond and been released from jail with a court hearing scheduled for May 19th.

Detectives began this investigation in August 2022. This was after learning that a Huntington Beach car dealer was searching for one of its vehicles in the Fresno area listed as stolen. HEAT detectives determined the Huntington Beach dealer originally sold this vehicle to Christopher Asher for $58,000. Asher presented himself as the general manager of Artanis Automotive, located at 5494 E. Lamona Ave. in Fresno. Since Artanis had a valid licensed dealer number, the Huntington Beach business finalized the transaction by sending the vehicle to Fresno. However, the check Asher sent to Huntington Beach bounced when the business tried cashing it.

Former Fresno Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $70,000

FRESNO — Lladira Hernandez, 23, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to stealing more than $70,000 from multiple customers’ accounts at a Fresno-based bank where she was previously employed, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in April 2022, Hernandez was hired by the bank as a customer service representative. She began stealing the bank account information for customers she helped over the phone and used it to pay bills for herself and her associates.

Fresno Woman Sentenced to More than Six Years in Prison for $300,000 COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud

FRESNO — Cecilia Aquino, 32, of Fresno, was sentenced today to six years and three months in prison for submitting over $300,000 in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims and Small Business Administration (SBA) loan applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court records, from June through November 2020, Aquino went on a crime spree where she submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance claims and loan applications in seven states using stolen identities.