Local News

Madera South Class of 2019 Steps into Their Future

MADERA - The Madera South High School Class of 2019 takes its final bow as high school seniors last Thursday evening. The weather couldn't have been any better as the class of over 580 students received their diplomas in front of a sold out Memorial Stadium.

Following graduations the former Stallions returned to the gyms of their old school for Sober Graduation party sponsored by the California Highway Patrol and the senior class where over $10,000 in prizes were given away as well as a car from GT Auto Sales of Madera.

Mexican National Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Marijuana Cultivation in Wilderness Area in the Sequoia National Forest

FRESNO - Felipe Angeles Valdez-Colima (Valdez), 36, of Michoacán, Mexico was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana in the Kiavah Wilderness area of the Sequoia National Forest, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd ordered Valdez to pay $7,620 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage he caused to the National Forest.

Tulare County Man Charged with Unlawfully Possessing a Machinegun and Cocaine

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment on Thursday against Francisco Fernandez, 26, of Earlimart, charging him with possessing cocaine for distribution, unlawfully possessing a machinegun, and possession of an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on April 19, 2019, agents searched Fernandez’s residence and storage unit and found cocaine, several assault rifles, a Glock pistol that was converted into a machinegun, and several auto sears. An auto sear is a part that is used to convert a semi‑automatic pistol into a fully automatic machinegun. Fernandez is prohibited from possessing firearms because he is an unlawful user of cocaine.

Aryan Brotherhood Members and Associates Charged with Racketeering for Directing Murders and Other Violent Crimes from Inside California Prisons

SACRAMENTO - Sixteen members and associates of a prison-based gang have been charged after a long-running investigation into drug trafficking and murders inside and outside of California’s prisons. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott, and Special Agent in Charge Chris Nielsen of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, nine defendants have been arrested on federal racketeering and other charges for extensive, organized criminal activity from within California’s most secure prisons. The allegations include murders, drug trafficking and other violent crimes. The complaint charges California State Prison inmates Ronald Yandell, 56; Daniel “Danny” Troxell, 66; William Sylvester, 51; Travis Burhop, 46; Brant Daniel, 44; Donald Mazza, 48, Pat Brady, 48; Michael Torres, 55; and Jason Corbett, 47. At the outset of this investigation, Yandell, Troxell, Sylvester, Burhop, Torres and Corbett were all serving life sentences for murder.

Yet Another Threat of Future School Shooting at Madera High - Student Arrested

MADERA – A Madera High School student has been arrested for making a threat Monday to shoot up the school on Thursday, a day before graduation. Police arrested the student after he wrote a message on the wall of a bathroom stall implying violence against Madera High School.

School officials found the threat was found Monday and police with the help of the school’s staff and administrators, officers identified the student and made an arrest. The student has claimed the written statement was a practical joke and he meant no harm. Facebook reports say the threat was written in blood or red ink.