News

FRESNO - On Wednesday, January 10, 2018, just after 7pm, Fresno Police Department Southwest Special Response Team (SRT) Officers Christopher Takemoto and Yessie Hernandez observed a wanted felon driving in the area of Jensen and Cherry Avenues.

Officers were able to identify the solo occupant driver as 32-year-old Randy Flowers, a Fresno resident and known TWAMP gang associate. Flowers was able to gain distance away from the officers before they could conduct a traffic stop.

OAKHURST - On January 8, 2018, at approximately 5:00am, Madera County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a residence in the 39000 block of Manzanita Drive in Oakhurst for a report of a burglary. The owner of the property reported that two motorcycles and several pieces of equipment had been stolen from his garage.

During a subsequent search of the area, a U-Haul truck with two occupants was located. The two subjects, David Greene and Tama Lucas, refused a consensual search of the vehicle; however, enough probable cause existed to detain the vehicle. Madera County Sheriff’s Office Detectives obtained a search warrant for the U-Haul, and numerous stolen items, including the equipment and one motorcycle, were recovered and returned to the owner(s).

MADERA - The Madera County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint District 5 supervisor Tom Wheeler to serve as the 2018 chairman of the board.  District 1 Supervisor Brett Frazier will serve as pro tem. The first supervisor meeting of the year is typically a reorganization meeting, with annual formalities on the agenda.

Tuesday’s meeting was no different, as 2017 chair Max Rodriguez passed the proverbial gavel to Wheeler. The supervisors presented Rodriguez with a plaque thanking him for his time leading the board. “It has been a pleasure to work with each of you,” said Rodriguez “I have no doubt Supervisor Wheeler will do an exceptional job as chairman.”

MADERA - In mid October of 2017, Madera County Sheriff’s Office Ag Crimes department received a report of numerous fuel thefts that had occurred at an equipment yard in the 28000 block of Avenue 14. Suspect and vehicle descriptions were derived during the course of the investigation.

The suspect was then observed on a neighboring property in early December, and Madera County Sheriff’s Office Detectives subsequently located the suspect vehicle parked at a residence 14000 block of Road 28, which was seconds away from the location of where the thefts had occurred.

SANGER - Detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Sex Crimes Unit have arrested 53 year old Edward Lira of Sanger. He is facing multiple felony charges, which include sex acts with a child under 14. On January 4th, the Sheriff’s Office received reports from two teenage girls who have suffered sexual abuse for several years, dating back to 2005.

The girls identified Edward Lira as the man responsible for committing the crimes against them. Lira is not a relative of the girls, but knew them from prior interactions with their family.

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. -  A new Long Island University Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis poll showed widespread disapproval of the Executive and Legislative branches. The poll showed that the majority of Americans disapprove of the President (60 percent), the Senate (64 percent), and the House of Representatives (62 percent) current job performance. Views on the Supreme Court's job performance was more evenly split, with 35 percent approval, 34 percent disapproval, and 30 percent unsure.

The national poll showed a correlation suggesting continued loyalty to the President amongst approximately a quarter of the American public. In three different questions, 25 percent answered that they would vote for him if the election was today, 23 percent said that they approve of the newly passed and signed tax legislation, and 22 percent responded that they primarily identify with the Republican political party. These numbers show that while Trump's Republican base of support has dwindled since his election night, there is a fiercely loyal group that are unlikely to be swayed by current news cycles or popular opinion.