News

MADERA - Madera County District Attorney David A. Linn announced today that his Madera County District Attorney Agricultural Crimes and Water Task Force has been profiled and featured in the September issue of Progressive Farmer Magazine.  The article contained in the magazine, entitled Liquid Gold, discussed in depth, pending criminal charges against Agriland Framing Company Incorporated, for misappropriation of water in March of 2016. 

The current criminal complaint contends that Agriland committed a felony violation of California Penal Code Section 592(a), in that Agriland took water from a canal and or ditch belonging to the Madera Irrigation District without authorization.  The case is currently pending in Madera Superior Court.

FRESNO - On Monday, September 18, 2017, detectives from the Fresno Police Department’s Career Criminal Auto Theft Team (CCATT) arrested two suspects of auto theft and retrieved two stolen vehicles. Police first located a 1993 Honda Civic Del Sol parked in the area of Washington and Fourth. The Honda was a reported stolen vehicle out of Clovis. Detectives began surveillance.

The Honda later became occupied and drove from the area. Detectives followed the Honda to the area of Thomas and Recreation where the driver was taken into custody. The driver was identified as Bulldog gang member Ruben Medellin, 30, of Fresno. Medellin was found to be on Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) probation for auto theft and to be wanted on an unrelated attempt burglary case. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail for felony auto theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, attempt burglary and PRCS violation.

FRESNO -  Fresno Police Officers from the Southwest Policing District, were heading to area of Tuolumne Street and F Street for a disturbance that came out, when they were flagged down by Security Guards from 1435 Fresno St. “Los Arcos”.

Security was pointing to a male subject running eastbound on Tuolumne, stating he just robbed someone. Officer’s were able to follow the subject running and detain him. Once the subject was detained, officer’s also spoke to the victim who confirmed he had been robbed.

MADERA – Madera County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Rebecca Martinez has announced a series of community workshops that will allow the public to try out new voting equipment. “Our current primary voting system is nearly 30 years old,” explained Martinez. “While the current system has served all of us very well, it has gone beyond its useful life and we are at a point where it must be replaced.”

Earlier this year Madera County posted a request for proposals for a new voting system. After a thorough review, Dominion Voting Systems Inc. was selected as the preferred vendor. In order to give the public the opportunity to evaluate the proposed system, Martinez is requiring that Dominion provide test equipment for the public to examine. The workshops will be held at the following locations:

FRESNO - On Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Detectives from the Fresno Police Department’s Career Criminal Auto Theft Team (CCATT) located a 1994 Honda Accord driving in the area of Woodrow and Gettysburg. The Honda was a reported stolen vehicle out of Northeast Fresno. The Honda parked and the two occupants walked to a nearby residence. Detectives made contact at the residence and took the two occupants into custody.

During a subsequent search of the residence, detectives located a homemade “zip gun” in the garage. The “zip gun” was loaded with a .357 caliber round.The driver was identified  as Nestor Ramos, 28, of Fresno. Ramos was also wanted for a prior “chop shop” case. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail for felony charges of operating a chop shop, auto theft, possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of a “zip gun.”

WASHINGTON D.C. - A thrilling epoch in the exploration of our solar system came to a close today, as NASA's Cassini spacecraft made a fateful plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet. "This is the final chapter of an amazing mission, but it's also a new beginning," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Cassini's discovery of ocean worlds at Titan and Enceladus changed everything, shaking our views to the core about surprising places to search for potential life beyond Earth."

Telemetry received during the plunge indicates that, as expected, Cassini entered Saturn's atmosphere with its thrusters firing to maintain stability, as it sent back a unique final set of science observations. Loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft occurred at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT), with the signal received by NASA's Deep Space Network antenna complex in Canberra, Australia.