Local News

Farmersville Man Charged With Firearms and Drug Offenses

FRESNO - On November 22, 2019, federal authorities arrested Miguel Deniz, 29, of Farmersville, who is charged in a three-count indictment with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of firearms, and possession of a machinegun, United States Attorney McGregor Scott announced.

Deniz ordered four “auto-sear” devices over the internet to his home address. Auto-sear devices are used to convert semi-automatic firearms to fire like fully automatic machineguns. The package was intercepted by law enforcement, and on May 1, 2019, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled delivery of the package to Deniz’s residence.

Second Guilty Plea In Mexican Timeshare Resale Fraud Prosecution

SACRAMENTO - Wayne Arthur York II, 51, most recently of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty today to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, York, while working in boiler rooms located in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, would call timeshare owners to offer to arrange for the sale of Mexican timeshare vacation rentals.

York would falsely claim that he and his coconspirators represented companies that had already secured or arranged for buyers who were ready to pay for the timeshares. In truth, no buyers had actually been arranged. Instead, York and others would convince the victims of the fraud to wire money from bank accounts in the United States and Canada to bank accounts in Mexico for alleged up-front payments including taxes, fees, and commissions to make the sale of the timeshare occur.

Two Kings County Men Charged with Possessing and Selling Machine Guns

FRESNO - A three-count indictment was unsealed today charging Eric Lopez Mercado, 25, of Lemoore, and Jose Moreno, 24 of Hanford, with illegally possessing and transferring machine guns, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

The indictment charges Mercado and Moreno with possessing several pistols that had no serial number markings but had conversion devices attached to the rear of the firearms that enabled them to function as fully automatic weapons. Both men are also charged with transferring a machine gun to another person and possessing a device capable of converting a handgun into a machine gun.

Kern County and Los Angeles County Residents Charged with Possessing and Illegally Importing 372 Pounds of Methamphetamine into the United States

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Pedro Alegra Jr., 21, of Delano, and Edgardo Rosales-Andrade, 23, of Paramount, charging them with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Rosales-Andrade was also charged with the illegal importation of narcotics, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

“The investigation of international drug trafficking operations is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” said Tatum King, a special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Francisco. “HSI in the Central Valley employs all of its resources to prevent these dangerous criminal networks from threatening our communities.”

Madera County Residents Indicted for Dealing Heroin that Caused Overdose Death

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Georgia Nicole Dean, 36, and Ashley Michelle Hill, 32, both of Coarsegold, charging them with selling heroin that resulted in the overdose death of another Coarsegold resident, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Dean and Hill are also charged with conspiring to distribute the heroin that resulted in the victim’s death.

According to court documents, on Aug. 22, Dean and Hill drove to the victim’s residence and sold heroin to him. It is alleged that the victim’s death resulted from the use of the mixture or substance containing heroin.