Local News

Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy and Guns Offenses

FRESNO - Javier Ochoa-Anaya, 49, residing in Denair, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking offenses, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to the plea agreement, Ochoa received a shipment of 54 kilograms of methamphetamine on Sept. 3, 2019. Ochoa enlisted the aid of co-defendant Victoria Rodriguez, to assist him in weighing and packaging the methamphetamine.

On Sept. 5, 2019, agents seized the methamphetamine during a search of Ochoa’s vehicle. In addition, agents seized a cooler stored with the methamphetamine that contained 1 kilogram of cocaine, five loaded firearms, a bullet proof vest, several high capacity magazines, a substance used to dilute the drugs, and a digital scale.

Stockton Man Charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

SACRAMENTO - A Stockton man was arrested on Tuesday and charged with production and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, from April to June 2020, Jonathan Thornton, 36, produced images depicting a seven-year-old engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He then distributed the images on a darknet website. Thornton operates a photography business called Thornton Photography.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mira Chernick is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Thornton faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Sheriff Tyson Pogue Fires Deputy for Teenage "Social Media" Racial Slur

MADERA – Here is another lesson in the power of one social media post’s ability to ruin your life, a Madera County Deputy Sheriff has been fired for using the “N-Word” in a Twitter post he wrote (about a car) when he was nineteen years old, five years before joining the Sheriff’s Department.

Damian Tabatabai has been with the department for nearly six months, but that ended Saturday when acting sheriff Tyson Pogue personally fired the deputy 90 minutes after becoming aware of the post with the racial slur. Department Public Information Officer Sarah Jackson said in a press release, “This conversation involved a deputy sheriff who was hired about 6 months ago and contained an extremely offensive racial slur. This conversation is believed to have occurred about 5 years before his employment with our agency.”

Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Cultivating Marijuana on Public Lands

FRESNO - Marco Lizandro Duarte-Beltran, aka Marco Antonio Duarte-Beltran, 34, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Duarte-Beltran cultivated 1,082 marijuana plants in the Millwood Creek area of the Sequoia National Forest for four months. Duarte-Beltran was apprehended at the marijuana cultivation site after a two-month investigation. He was wearing camouflage clothing and was armed with a loaded revolver.

Two Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Modesto Bank Robbery Conspiracy

FRESNO - Soledad residents Enrique Lopez, 28, and Victor Bravo, 25, were each sentenced today to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, on Nov. 16, 2018, a deputy sheriff noticed a Nissan Altima parked in a parking lot at an apartment complex in Modesto that had been reported stolen from Salinas. Officers set up surveillance on the stolen Nissan and watched four cars carrying the five co-conspirators leave the apartment complex.

The cars traveled close to each other to a shopping area in Modesto that contained a Chase Bank. One co-conspirator drove back and forth past the Chase Bank, talking to the other conspirators on the phone.