Local News

Atwater Police Make Arrests in Two Major New Year’s Week Cases

ATWATER - The Atwater Police Department Detectives on January 2^nd. with the assistance of the Merced County Sheriff’s STAR team and the Merced County District Attorney’s Office were able to find and arrest a suspect in the December 30^th, 2020 homicide on Atwater Boulivad.

The suspect was arrested in the City of Merced at a local hotel on a warrant obtained with information obtained during the investigation. The arrested subject is identified as Matthew Shimkus (30) a resident of Atwater. During the arrest, officers located a firearm, narcotics, and stolen property.

Bulldog Street Gang Member Involved in Hit-and-Run Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearm

FRESNO - Mario Alberto Rangel, 29, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to four years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, on Oct. 22, 2019, law enforcement officers attempted to stop Rangel for a traffic violation, but he failed to yield.

Moments later, Rangel crashed into another car, then exited his car and fled the scene on foot. Fresno Police officers eventually caught up to him and arrested him. The car that he abandoned was searched, and a loaded shotgun was found in the back seat. Rangel is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his prior criminal record, including a 2018 conviction for assault with a firearm on a person.

Fresno Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Illegal Firearms Possession

FRESNO - David Vann, 29, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to nine years and two months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, Vann failed to yield to police officers during an attempted traffic stop. He then led officers on a vehicle chase, during which he failed to stop at a stop sign and stoplight, and drove southbound in the northbound lane of traffic.

After exiting the vehicle, Vann discarded a firearm in bushes in a residential area. Vann is a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was on post-release community supervision at the time of his arrest in this case. This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Schuh prosecuted the case.

Chowchilla Prison Inmate Charged in Two COVID-19 Unemployment Benefit Fraud Schemes

SACRAMENTO - Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been fraudulently taken in two separate schemes that targeted California Employment Development Department (EDD) unemployment insurance benefits that were intended for Californians hit hardest by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

The benefits involved billions of dollars in federal subsidies that have been significantly increased through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Former Clovis Pastor Sentenced to over 7 Years in Prison for Real Estate Development Fraud Scheme

FRESNO - Sherman Smith, 74, of Monterey, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison and ordered to pay $2,187,000 in restitution for a scheme that defrauded church congregants and others, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. In sentencing Smith, U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd said, “Mr. Smith is a con-man and a thief.”

“Smith’s actions, in this case, went far beyond ‘misappropriation,’” said U.S. Attorney Scott. “In asking for church donations to support his scheme, he targeted widows for their deceased husband’s life insurance money; he asked for money to be withdrawn from retirements accounts; he damaged marriages and family relationships; he took away parents’ dreams of affording college for their children, and he destroyed lives. Today’s sentence is the second federal sentence for Smith, who previously served 37 months in prison for securities fraud that caused a loss of over $5 million with 38 different victims. Our office is committed to protecting the public from financial predators like Smith.”