News

Madera Fair Kicks Off 2021 Season After a Year Closed

MADERA – Day one of the 2021 Madera District Fair is in the books, and we have a photographic record of it on our Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/BigValleyNews). The first day kicked off with the raising of the American Flag, which had been at half staff after the loss of thirteen American warriors in Afghanistan last month.

This is the first fair in Madera County since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020. The Madera County Fair has been shut down for two years, and last year's Madera District Fair and many others throughout the state, were canceled over health concerns. So this year's fair is being run with safety at the forefront. Hand washing stations have been placed all over the grounds, and guests are asked to social distance and wear masks if guests feel uncomfortable.

Charges Added in Eastern District of California for Madera Man Previously Charged in Washington D.C. District Court Related to Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

FRESNO - Benjamin Martin, 43, of Madera, was charged today by criminal complaint for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, on Sept. 2, 2021, Martin was arrested at his residence in Madera on a criminal complaint issued by the District Court for the District of Columbia for charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The FBI also executed federal search warrants at Martin’s residence and found that he possessed several firearms, including a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun and Kimber 1911 pistol. Martin has a prior conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.

Third Madera Defendant Added in Superseding Indictment for Trafficking Fentanyl and Methamphetamine

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a six-count superseding indictment today adding Josue Morales, 23, to April 29, 2021, indictment, that charged Madera residents Emilio Hernandez Yesca, 27, and Jorge Perez, 24, with trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, the charges arose out of a months-long investigation into a drug trafficking organization. Between October 2020 and March 2021, the three conspired to distribute pounds of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills. These fentanyl pills are clandestinely manufactured pills that are made to resemble pharmaceutical oxycodone pills, but instead contain fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine.

Central Valley Optometrist Indicted for Submitting over $1 Million in False Claims to Medicare

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment today against optometrist Carole Sachs, O.D., 76, of Delhi, charging her with health care fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Sachs was an optometrist and practiced out of offices in Turlock and Modesto. Between November 2016 and February 2021, Sachs fraudulently billed Medicare for optometry services she did not provide. Sachs billed over $1 million and received over $700,000 in payments from Medicare from these false and fraudulent claims. The fraudulent claims included claims for performing ultrasounds and for placing amniotic membranes on patients’ eyes despite the fact that Sachs did not perform these procedures.

Registered Sex Offender in Fresno Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation Offenses

FRESNO - A federal grand jury has returned a three-count indictment against Andrew Michael Alonso, 31, of Fresno, charging him with sexual exploitation of a minor, receipt of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and committing a felony offense involving a minor while being a registered sex offender, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.

According to court documents, Alonso is a registered sex offender who was on California parole supervision with GPS location monitoring. He contacted a 13-year-old victim on Instagram and then communicated with the victim through text messages in May and June 2021.

Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Cultivation in the Dutch Oven Creek Area of the Sierra National Forest

FRESNO - Lester Eduardo Cardenas Flores, 24, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. He also agreed to pay $48,057 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage that the cultivation operation had on public land.

According to court documents, the cultivation operation contained 2,307 marijuana plants and was located in the Basin Creek drainage in the Dutch Oven Creek area of the Sierra National Forest. Cardenas and his co-defendant, Luis Madrigal Reyes, 37, also of Michoacán, Mexico, were apprehended at the grow site during the execution of a search warrant.

Madera and Fresno Men Sentenced for Interstate Drug Shipments

FRESNO - Patrick Maldonado, 45, of Madera, and Elias Zambrano Jr., 41, of Fresno, have been sentenced to eight years in prison and two years and three months in prison, respectively, for an interstate drug conspiracy involving shipments of marijuana to the Midwest, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Maldonado and Zambrano pleaded guilty earlier this year. According to court documents, in November 2018, Maldonado coordinated with Tan Minh Vo, 48, of San Jose, to send two shipments of marijuana to Halen Frazier, 34, of Kingsville, Missouri. The first shipment was seized from Frazier during a traffic stop after Tien Van Phan, 56, of Milpitas, delivered 92 pounds of marijuana to Frazier in two suitcases at a hotel in Kansas City.