News

SACRAMENTO. – Today, the Department of Justice announced it has charged more than 500 domestic violence cases involving firearms during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. A Department priority since 2019 when Attorney General William P. Barr created the Department of Justice’s first ever-Domestic Violence Working Group, these charges are the result of the critical law enforcement partnership between United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, led by Acting Director Regina Lombardo, who has made domestic violence firearms-related investigations a priority.

“Keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminal offenders is one of the Department of Justice’s top priorities,” said Attorney General Barr. “This is especially important when it comes to individuals with prior domestic violence convictions. The statistics are clear that when domestic violence offenders have access to guns, their partners and their families are at a much greater risk of falling victim to gun violence. In fact, in some communities across America, roughly half of the homicides are related to domestic violence. The Department of Justice is committed to keeping guns out of the hands of those who are prohibited from having them, and we will continue investigating and prosecuting all domestic violence firearms-related crimes.”

FRESNO -  A federal grand jury has returned a two-count indictment against Todd Eric Mumma, 57, of Fresno, charging him with actual and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today. According to court documents, Mumma used hidden digital video recording devices in a residence to create sexually explicit images of a minor.

He edited recordings on a computer and then transferred selected images onto a cellphone where the images were stored in a password‑protected application. A forensic review of devices seized with a search warrant revealed images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct that had been downloaded onto a computer.

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned two indictments Thursday arising from a single investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in California and trafficking drugs to Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon, and Washington, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today. The grand jury charged Fresno residents Jesus Gonzalez-Burgos, 36, Gabriel Gomez-Nunez, 36, and Jose Rubalcalva Gutierrez Jr., 34, with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.

The grand jury also charged the following defendants with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl: Juan Alejandro Comparan-Guzman, 34, of Kerman; Quintin Jeuh Carlos-Bañuelos, 25, of Palo Alto; Hector Gomez, 27, of Omaha, Nebraska; Francisco Ramírez, 20, of Fresno; Lorena Ramírez, 36, of Fresno; Christina Maria Nino, 57, of Fresno; Anna Concepcion Jimenez-Ambriz, 21, of Fresno; Rafael Zaragoza, 28, of Fresno; Carol Maldonaldo Vasquez, 32, of Corcoran; and Rita Ann-Marie Louis, 29, of Carnation, Washington.

FRESNO - Ryan James Taylor, 34, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty today to burglary of a post office, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, on Aug. 26, 2018, Taylor forcibly broke into the Mojave Post Office in Kern County and stole United States Mail from the outgoing mail drop bin.

After breaking into the post office, Taylor also stole a United States mail truck. The stolen mail included a Starbucks gift card that Taylor later used to purchase a coffee drink and a check that he endorsed over to himself, all without authorization.

FRESNO - Isaias Herrera-Ortiz, 29, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and production of false identification documents, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, between February 2018 and November 2019, Herrera-Ortiz and his co-conspirators produced, possessed, transferred, and sold false identification documents.

These documents included fraudulent lawful permanent resident or LPR cards and fraudulent social security numbers or SSN cards. In particular, Herrera-Ortiz admitted that on Feb. 28, 2018, he sold three LPR cards and three SSN cards to a customer for $390.00.

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment today against Andrew James Sarnowski, 22, of Rosamond, charging him with separate counts of production of child pornography and distribution of child pornography, and two additional counts of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Sarnowski produced multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of a minor less than a year of age and shared them online through an encrypted social media application. Pursuant to a search of his residence, additional electronic devices belonging to Sarnowski were identified and found to contain hundreds of additional child pornography files, including those depicting pre-pubescent boys and girls being sexually abused.