Local News

Former California EDD Employee Sentenced for Disability Benefits Fraud and Identity Theft

SACRAMENTO - Katherine Decker, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to three years and seven months in prison for a disability benefits fraud and identity theft scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between June 14, 2013, and May 1, 2017, Decker and co‑defendant Angela Stubblefield, 49, of Tacoma, Washington, formerly of Martinez, participated in a scheme to defraud the State of California by filing fraudulent claims for disability insurance benefits with the California Employment Development Department (EDD).

Bakersfield Man and Two Others Indicted for Conspiring to Traffic Over 10,000 Fentanyl Pills and 10 Pounds of Methamphetamine

FRESNO — Jorge Luis Velasquez, 33, of Mexico, Omar Velazquez Landeros, 27, of Bakersfield, and Victor Romero Galvan, 29, of Mexico, were indicted today for conspiring and possessing with intent to distribute over 10,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl and approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine, and for carrying firearms in furtherance of these crimes, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on or about January 28, 2020, in Kern County, Landeros distributed approximately one pound of nearly pure methamphetamine to an undercover officer in Bakersfield. Velasquez assisted with coordinating that transaction. On or about March 13, 2020, Landeros distributed approximately 1,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills, which Velasquez helped to coordinate as well.

Clovis Man Charged with Attempted Online Enticement of Minor to Engage in Illegal Sex Acts and Receipt of Child Pornography

FRESNO — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment yesterday against Thomas Layman Binford, 55, of Clovis, California, charging him with separate counts of attempting coercion and enticement of a minor and receipt of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, as well as receipt of child pornography, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Binford traveled to a park in Fresno, California on the evening of July 28, 2020, with the intent of meeting and engaging in illegal sex acts with a 13-year-old minor he had earlier met online through the Skout social media application. Upon his arrest at the park, his cell phone was seized and subsequently searched, where over 250 images of minors being sexually exploited were found.

Colorado Man, Operating Under the Nicknames “Penissmith” and “Botah”, Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Moderating Disputes on Darknet Marketplace Alphabay

FRESNO — Bryan Connor Herrell, 26, of Aurora, Colorado, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Dale A. Drozd to 11 years in prison, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott for the Eastern District of California and Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced.

According to court documents, Herrell was a moderator on the AlphaBay marketplace, an illegal website that operated on the so-called darknet. On AlphaBay, vendors, and purchasers engaged in hundreds of thousands of illicit transactions for guns, drugs, stolen identity information, credit card numbers, and other illegal items. At the time, AlphaBay was the world’s largest online drug marketplace.

Madera County Confirms Death from First Human Case of Saint Louis Encephalitis Virus in California in 2020

MADERA - Madera County is reporting a fatality from St. Louis Encephalitis Virus (SLEV) in a male in his 90s from August 2020. This is the first confirmed case of SLEV in the state of California in 2020 and the first case in Madera County since 1976. While preliminary testing originally suggested the West Nile Virus, further testing has now confirmed SLEV as the final diagnosis.

Saint Louis Encephalitis is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. Testing of mosquitos in Madera had demonstrated one pool testing positive recently for SLEV. Mosquito abatement control was notified at the time of the original diagnosis and has been spraying in the areas where the positive tests were localized. SLEV is similar to West Nile Virus: both can result in infections of the brain, paralysis, and rarely death.