News

CARUTHERS - Property crimes detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office have arrested three people for their involvement in a total of six armed robberies. They are 36 year old Alfredo Garza, 33 year old Carlos Zuniga and 19 year old Vanessa Magana-Infante. All are from Lemoore and face felony charges for robbery. Zuniga’s bail is set at $175,000 and MaganaInfantes’ bail is $55,000.

The six robberies occurred at different businesses between November 14th and December 3rd. Five took place in Caruthers and the other one in Laton. All of them involved similar methods where one or two of the men entered the stores wearing masks and hooded sweatshirts. They pointed handguns at the clerks and demanded cash. In some cases, the suspects also stole alcohol and cigarettes. Garza and Zuniga are known to have entered the stores, whereas, Magana-Infante served as the getaway driver in at least one of the robberies.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -  The Salvation Army's ability to serve more than 23 million people annually depends on the continual generosity of everyday people. Following devastating wildfires and catastrophic hurricanes, thousands of families are left in desperate need, and with the potential de-incentivization for middle-income Americans to give under the new tax code, year-end donations are more critical than ever.

"For more than a century, we've been blessed with contributions during the holiday season that fuel our efforts to meet our mission of helping those in need," said Commissioner David Hudson, national commander of The Salvation Army. "We've seen an outpouring of generosity to aid first responders and survivors in the wake of unprecedented natural disasters and we pray that same spirit continues during this critical year-end giving season."  

FRESNO - Homicide detectives are investigating the death of 63 year old Fernando Santoya of Fresno. He was involved in an altercation on December 18th and passed away at the hospital later in the day. Santoya was a United States Postal Service (USPS) employee who worked as a rural route mail carrier.

At 12:00 pm on Tuesday, Santoya arrived to a home on the 700 block of S. Polk Ave. in Fresno to deliver mail. A group of men, hired to perform some work, were at the home during this time. One of the workers had parked his vehicle in front of the mailbox, so he moved it once the mail carrier arrived.

FRESNO -  A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Carlos Villa-Lozano, 30, and Paulina Silva Aguilar, 32, both of Fresno, charging them with aiming the beam of a laser pointer at a California Highway Patrol aircraft, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Villa-Lozano was also charged separately with making false statements to an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment alleges that on July 22, 2018, Villa-Lozano and Silva used a dangerously bright green laser pointer to strike a CHP fixed-wing aircraft approximately 12 times. The indictment further alleges that Villa-Lozano materially misrepresented to the FBI agent that the laser device was used for one to two seconds “at most” and hit the aircraft only one time.

ELK GROVE -  California Northstate University (CNU) today unveiled ambitious plans to build a 250-bed teaching hospital adjacent to its campus in Elk Grove. The University has submitted plans to the City of Elk Grove to begin the process toward construction, projected to begin in 2019 and be completed by 2022.

The California Northstate University Medical Center will provide the city and region with much-needed access to Level II trauma care, acute and comprehensive medical care, and physician training. The hospital will improve public safety and emergency response times and is expected to create more than 24,000 new jobs over the next 10 years. In addition, it will reduce traffic to and from Sacramento, and CNU will work with the city to create transit routes to the medical center for local employees.

MADERA – Madera High Varsity Football Coach Yosef Fares is headed back from whence he came, Bullard high School. After three years at the helm of the Coyote football program, the coach has accepted a position with Donnie Arax and the Bullard High School Knights as their co-head coach and defensive coordinator.

Rumors have been circulating about the move since October when Coach Fares told Big Valley News, “I’d be lying if I’d said that’s not my dream job taken over my Alma Mater.” Which looking back on that answer, I realize was not a denial.