Local News

BVN EXCLUSIVE: Eric Fleming to Resign as Madera County CAO in 2020

MADERA – For better or worse, come Tuesday afternoon there will be a major shift in the leadership at the Madera County Government Center. Where you stand on this change depends on how you have interacted with Madera County Chief Administrative Officer over the last nine and a half years. The fifty-year-old Eric Fleming will be issuing his resignation in closed session during Tuesday’s Madera County Board of Supervisors meeting.

In a letter to the Board of Supervisors, Fleming says that “all things come to an end” and he believes that 2020 will be the year for him to wrap up loose ends and step down as CAO. Fleming hasn’t made this decision lightly and says he has been contemplating this for the last year.”I am not sure I have the energy or ability to effectively lead this organization any further.”

Fentanyl Distribution Organization Disrupted in Kern County

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment today against Bakersfield residents Wilfredo Medina-Perez, 31; Uriel Ivan Portillo, 33; and Rojelio “Roy” Garcia, 47, charging them with various drug trafficking crimes involving the distribution of fentanyl, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between Feb. 11 and Nov. 21, Medina-Perez sold more than 8,000 fentanyl pills and 1 pound of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. Portillo, who was working with Medina-Perez, delivered 5,000 fentanyl pills to the undercover officer. Garcia obtained fentanyl from Medina-Perez with the intention of distributing the drug to his customers in the Bakersfield area.

West Side Crip Member Jarvis Thomas, aka “Big Mice,” Sentenced to Over 26 Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking

FRESNO - Jarvis Thomas, 34, of Bakersfield, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd today to 320 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between Sept. 27, 2017, and Sept. 11, 2018, Thomas conspired with others to possess and distribute methamphetamine in Bakersfield and North Dakota.

Madera DMV Field Office Opening for ‘REAL ID Saturday’

MADERA – Area residents interested in applying for a REAL ID can take advantage of a special event this weekend at the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ Madera field office. The DMV’s “REAL ID Saturday” event in Madera on December 7 will be dedicated exclusively to processing REAL ID applications.

Customers can stop by the office at their convenience (no appointments) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and must complete the online REAL ID application at eDLapp.dmv.ca.gov before their visit. DMV offices in Fresno, Clovis, Merced, and Visalia are among the more than 60 offices statewide that serve customers every Saturday, and customers can visit one of those offices for other services on December 7, as well as apply for a REAL ID.

Visalia Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Theft in Kings Canyon National Park

FRESNO - Dallas John Fonseca, 43, of Visalia, pleaded guilty today to felony theft in Kings Canyon National Park, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, on Feb. 9, someone who worked within Kings Canyon National Park gave a jewelry purse to the manager of the John Muir Lodge for safekeeping.

The manager placed the purse inside a locked drawer. Sometime between Feb. 9 and March 11, Fonseca, who worked in the Lodge, stole the jewelry and a Rolex watch that was inside the purse. Fonseca was arrested after he was captured on surveillance footage selling the Rolex to a local pawn shop.