Local News

Justice Department Resolves Lawsuits with Bakersfield Doctors to Ensure Equal Access to Health Care for People with HIV

FRESNO - The Justice Department today announced that it has filed proposed consent decrees with two obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) doctors in Bakersfield, California. The consent decrees, which are subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, resolve the department’s lawsuits against the doctors, Umaima Jamaluddin, MD, and Chibuike Enyereibe Anucha, MD, PC, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department sued Dr. Jamaluddin and Dr. Anucha alleging violations of the ADA based on their refusal to provide routine medical care to a patient because the patient has HIV. Title III of the ADA prohibits doctors and other health care providers from discriminating against people with disabilities, including HIV.

One lawsuit alleged that Dr. Anucha told the patient that she needed a Pap smear and refused to perform it because the patient has HIV. The other lawsuit alleged that Dr. Jamaluddin refused to allow the same patient to make an appointment for routine preventative care because the patient has HIV.

Vice President of Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking Charges

FRESNO - Michael Shafer, 34, of Modesto, was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Shafer was the vice president of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Modesto in 2019. As part of a years-long investigation into the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, investigators obtained a court-authorized wiretap for Shafer’s phone. The wiretapped calls and messages showed that Shafer was conspiring to distribute marijuana and heroin. Specifically, in April 2019, Shafer conspired with a former Hells Angels member who was incarcerated in Pleasant Valley State Prison to smuggle heroin into prison.

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims Announces Retirement; Will Finish Out 2022

FRESNO - Margaret Mims, Sheriff for Fresno County has announced she will not seek re-election this year as she plans on retiring from law enforcement. Mims said in a press release Friday, “After much thought and reflection, I have decided to retire at the end of my current term as Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner – Public Administrator. This decision does not come easily as I still get such satisfaction out of public service, but after 42 years, the time is right for me to retire while I am still healthy and can be active with my family.”

The sheriff began her law enforcement career in January 1980 as a police officer for the City of Kerman, then was hired in August 1983 as a Deputy Sheriff for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. She was promoted through the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Sheriff, and then serving as the elected Sheriff for 16 years by the end of my current term.

Merced Man Arrested for Being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition and Drug Trafficking Charges

FRESNO - Johnathan Eldon Moss Jr., 35, of Merced, was detained Thursday on a two‑count federal indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of ammunition and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Moss’s home and on his vehicle. Those searches yielded multiple unmarked, privately made firearms known as “ghost guns,” several hundred rounds of unexpended ammunition, high-capacity rifle and pistol magazines, a high-capacity speed loader for rifle magazines, a ledger showing weapons and ammunition sold, a body armor vest, cocaine, psilocybin, and a total of $10,990 in cash. Moss has felony convictions for firearms and drug offenses, domestic violence and stalking and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Superseding Indictment Adds Defendants to $25 Million, Prison-Based Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme

FRESNO - A total of eight defendants have been charged in a superseding indictment for submitting over $25 million in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in the identities of inmates, minor children, and others to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The indictment was announced today by U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert following the arrest of all the defendants.

The original indictment charged Daryol Richmond, 30, an inmate at Kern Valley State Prison; Telvin Breaux, 29, an inmate at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi; and Holly White, 30, of Los Angeles, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. The superseding indictment adds Cecelia Allen, 33, of Downey; Fantasia Brown, 33, of Los Angeles; Tonisha Brown, 28, of Los Angeles; Fantesia Davis, 32, of Victorville; and Shanice White, 28, of Hawthorne. They are also charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. Richmond and Breaux are inmates at the Kern Valley State Prison and California Correctional Institute, respectively. The remaining defendants reside in the Southern California area.