Local News

Sixty Defendants Charged in Nationwide Takedown of Methamphetamine Network

SAN DIEGO – An indictment was unsealed today in federal court charging 60 members of a San Diego-based international methamphetamine distribution network tied to the Sinaloa Cartel with drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms offenses.

During the last month, hundreds of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents and officers have arrested dozens of defendants and searched multiple locations throughout San Diego County and in five states. As of today, 44 of the 60 defendants are either in federal or state custody, and the search continues for 16 defendants. In addition to these arrests, law enforcement has seized more than 220 pounds of methamphetamine and other illegal drugs; 90 firearms; and more than $250,000 in cash. Law enforcement officials are also seeking the forfeit of residences, high-end vehicles, and bulk cash belonging to these defendants.

California Adds Five States to Travel Restrictions List as a Result of Wave of New Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

SAN FRANCISCO – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced that California will restrict state-funded travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia as a result of new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation recently enacted in each state. The states are a part of a recent, dangerous wave of discriminatory new bills signed into law in states across the country that directly work to ban transgender youth from playing sports, block access to life-saving care, or otherwise limit the rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Many states pushing these new discriminatory laws are already on California’s travel restrictions list. The new restrictions on state-funded travel to the states announced today are prescribed by law in California pursuant to Assembly Bill 1887 (AB 1887), which was enacted in 2016.

Madera Sheriff Deputies Make Felony Copper Wire Theft Arrest

MADERA - Early Saturday morning the Madera County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an unknown male subject at the PG&E Equipment yard located in the 30000 block of Avenue 12. Deputy Joseph Wood and Corporal Adam McEwen responded to the location and observed a male subject entering a gold-colored minivan parked outside of the fence.

A suspect, later identified as 32-year-old Ernesto Navarrete of Fresno, was found at the scene inside the minivan. Upon further investigation, deputies discovered a hole cut in the fence. Deputies recovered numerous coils of copper wire, a pair of wire cutters, and bolt cutters at the scene. Additional copper wire was located inside the van with Navarrete, along with two large pry bars. A methamphetamine pipe was also located inside the vehicle.

Seniors and Others at Risk from Extreme Heat Can Find Relief at Cooling Centers

SAN FRANCISCO - Cooling Centers continue to provide a safe, air-conditioned location for all residents to cool down during extreme heat. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has the long-provided financial support to fund the operation of the existing county- and city-run cooling centers throughout the service area where summer temperatures typically reach triple digits, primarily in the Central Valley.

This year, PG&E introduces new partnerships with the City of West Sacramento and Kingsburg as well as El Dorado, Shasta, and San Joaquin counties to help fund the operation of their existing cooling centers.

Prison Officials Investigating the Death of an Incarcerated Person as a Homicide

DELANO – Officials at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the June 11 death of inmate Artemio Gomez, 40, as a homicide.

At approximately 8:15 a.m., KVSP correctional officers immediately responded when inmates Marcos Lomeli and Alberto Mejia began attacking Gomez with weapons. Lomeli and Mejia disregarded orders to stop their actions, as officers quickly intervened using chemical agents to quell the attack and subsequently recovered two inmate-manufactured weapons. Gomez suffered multiple stab wounds and was taken to the institution’s Treatment and Triage Area for medical attention where he was pronounced deceased at 8:45 p.m.