Local News

Manhunt for Kyle Snipes Over OIS Death Near North Fork

NORTH FORK - Early Thursday morning, members of the Fresno HEAT (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) Task Force located a stolen car in Fresno County. The team conducted a surveillance operation on the car and followed the suspect, Kyle Patrick Snipes (29) into Madera County.

The driver, Snipes, realized he was being followed and lead law enforcement officers to a home on the 49000 block of Road 210, near the community of Fine Gold. Snipes got out of the car and ran toward the house. HEAT members surrounded the home and identified themselves as law enforcement.

Varney to Eliminate Salvador's Undersheriff Position

MADERA - Tuesday afternoon Madera County Sheriff Jay Varney met with the Madera County Board of Supervisors to discuss the proposed budget for the sheriff's department and the restructuring of his command staff.

That restructuring would eliminate one lieutenant position and the undersheriff position currently held by Michael Salvador for the last two year. In place of those two positions, two commander positions will be created and filled by two of the four existing lieutenants within the department.

Owner of Smith Manor Funeral Home Arrested on 25 Counts of Fraud

MADERA - Thursday afternoon, Madera County Sheriff’s Detectives arrested Sharlane Smith at her Clovis home on numerous counts of fraud. Smith is the co-owner of Smith Manor Funeral home in Madera with her ex-husband George Smith. Her arrest follows several weeks of investigation into allegations that Smith Manor was intentionally over-charging the County of Madera for Coroner’s Services.

Smith Manor has held the County’s coroner services contract since 2004 and has been responsible for transportation, storage, autopsy facilities, and dispositions of deceased persons in Madera County. Evidence uncovered by Detectives indicates that Smith was intentionally adding charges to the monthly billing to the County for services that were not actually provided.

Fresno Deputy Police Chief Arrested on Federal Drug Charges

DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF RELEASED ON OWN RECOGNIZANCE BY FEDERAL JUDGE

FRESNO - On Thursday agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Sacramento Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) San Francisco Field Division arrested Fresno Deputy Police Chief Keith Foster (51), after a year long investigation into a drug conspiracy.

The investigation revealed that Foster and several accomplices had been distributing oxycodone, heroin and marijuana. Foster and five others have been arrested for distribution and possession of these substances and more arrests appear likely in the case.

Showdown in the MUSD Board Room Tonight: Crazy vs. Arrogant?

MADERA - Well it looks like the motivations for last months attempt at firing Madera Unified School District Superintendent Ed Gonzales has finally been revealed. It seems that since December, board president Maria Velarde-Garcia and the superintendent have been engaged in a war of words not over text books and test scores but whether or not Velarde-Garcia, as the board president, was entitled to a district paid credit card.

After the January 27, 2015 MUSD board meeting, Big Valley News received a phone call from a district insider stating that a California Public Records Act request for emails and text messages between the board president and the districts executive cabinet might net some interesting conversations. Twenty-one days after that request was made, the district turned over two PDF documents filled with communications between Gonzales and Velarde-Garcia. The two documents are available at the bottom of this story.