OAKHURST - On January 16, 2022 around 9pm, Madera County Sheriff's deputies observed an older Ford F-250 matching the description of a recently stolen vehicle traveling northbound on CA-41 in Oakhurst. After conducting a vehicle stop, MCSO Dispatch confirmed the vehicle was stolen out of Oakhurst.
New Jersey Man Indicted in Fraud Scheme to Steal California Unemployment Insurance Benefits
SACRAMENTO - A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment today against Eric Michael Jaklitsch, 40, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, charging him with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. On Dec. 8, 2021, Jaklitsch was arrested on a federal criminal complaint at his home in New Jersey. He made his initial appearance in the District of New Jersey and was ordered detained for transport to the Eastern District of California.
According to court documents, between October 2020 and December 2021, Jaklitsch executed a scheme to defraud the California Employment Development Department (EDD) by filing at least 78 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with EDD, seeking Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and other benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. During the scheme, Jaklitsch collected personal identifying information of numerous individuals — including names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers — and used their identities to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.
Former Madera County Sheriff Passes: Ovonual “Berk” Berkley (87)
MADERA - Ovonual “Berk” Berkley passed away peacefully on the afternoon of January 22, 2022. He was born on November 24th, 1934 in Bristow, Oklahoma, to Finies and Hazel Berkley. He was later joined by two sisters, Donna and Linda. When he was in the first grade, he met the girl who would become the love of his life, Maxine Brown.
When he was young, the family moved back and forth between Madera and Oklahoma several times, finally settling in Madera for good. He attended Ripperdan and Lincoln Elementary Schools, and graduated from Madera High School in 1953, and shortly thereafter, he and Maxine were married at the home of his parents. During their 67 years of marriage, they had two children - daughter, Shella, in 1954, and son, Randy, in 1958.
Department of Justice Awards More Than $125 Million in Grants Under The Stop School Violence Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice today announced nearly $126 million in funding to advance school safety under the STOP School Violence Act. The grants, awarded by the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), will help institute safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, support school violence prevention efforts, provide training to school personnel and students, and implement evidence-based threat assessments.
“The Justice Department has no greater responsibility than protecting Americans from harm,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Schools must be safe places to learn, and today’s investment of more than $125 million under the STOP School Violence Act will help ensure that they are.”
“Every child deserves a safe childhood and that includes a safe environment at school,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. “The grants that the Department of Justice announced today will help ensure our students can learn and thrive in school.”
The Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (the “STOP School Violence Act”) gives the Justice Department the authority to provide awards directly to states, units of local government, Indian tribes, and public agencies (such as school districts and law enforcement agencies) to improve security at schools and on school grounds through evidence-based school safety programs. It also provides grants to ensure a positive school climate by helping students and teachers recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence.
The 78 BJA annual awards, totaling almost $74 million, are intended to support training and education for school personnel and students on preventing violence against others and themselves, including anti-bullying training and specialized training for school officials to respond to mental health crises. Funds also help develop and implement multidisciplinary threat assessment or intervention teams and design technology solutions such as anonymous reporting systems, hotlines and websites.
The COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) provides up to 75% of the funding for school safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools. The 153 SVPP awards, totaling almost $52 million, are statutorily obligated to be used for coordination with law enforcement; training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence; locks, lighting and other deterrent measures; technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and other measures that provide a significant improvement in security.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime-fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to agency for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 states, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 135,000 officers.
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.
MS-13 Member Sentenced for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Drug Trafficking Conspiracy
FRESNO - Lorenzo Amador, 23, of Mendota, was sentenced on December 17, 2021, by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd to five years and three months in prison for assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Amador was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a violent criminal street gang that engages in racketeering activity, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. On August 12, 2018, Amador and fellow MS-13 members kicked, hit, and stabbed a member of a rival gang in the back with a knife, slicing his diaphragm and sending him to the emergency room where he had to have life-saving surgery.
