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Throughout her three-decade career, Chief Casto has risen through the ranks from Police Explorer to Interim Chief of Police, demonstrating a deep commitment to public safety, community policing, and department modernization. She has held leadership positions across multiple divisions, including Patrol, Investigations, Internal Affairs, and Support Services, overseeing critical crime reduction efforts, officer training programs, and major department initiatives. To Catch a Predator” Operation Nets 5 Arrests in Madera County
Agents and officers used undercover identities to pose as minors online who adults solicited to commit sexual acts. During the operation, agents were contacted by nearly 100 different online predators. As the agents communicated with the suspects, they were directed to an area where they were eventually apprehended and arrested. Five subjects were arrested for charges of arranging to meet with a minor for sexual purposes and meeting with a minor for sexual purposes.
Former Sanger Police Officer Convicted on Eight Counts of Sexually Assault
The announcement was made by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kathleen Wolfe of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith for the Eastern District of California, and Special Agent in Charge Siddartha Patel of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Throwing Methamphetamine into Federal Prison Yard
According to court documents, on May 1, 2024, Wheelen arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution Mendota wearing a facemask, baseball cap, and hoodie to conceal his identity. In broad daylight, Wheelen ran to the prison fence and tossed four packages into the prison’s recreation yard. He was quickly apprehended after attempting to flee. The packages contained more than 3 pounds of methamphetamine. Wheelen was on supervised release from a prior federal felony charge at the time. California La eMe Members and Associates Indicted for Racketeering and Controlled Substance Trafficking through a Partnership with the Sinaloa Cartel
According to court documents, the defendants were members of an organization known as the Mexican Mafia or La eMe, whose members engaged in, among other things, interference with commerce through extortion, arson, controlled substance trafficking, and firearms trafficking. La eMe was founded in Folsom State Prison. Thereafter, La eMe grew within the California and Federal prison systems, and today, La eMe exerts influence and control over various illegal activities both inside and outside of the prison systems. Fresno County Men Indicted for Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy
According to court documents, from November 2024 until his arrest in December 2024, Kerns conspired with Wakley and others to sell fentanyl pills to customers in Fresno County. On Nov. 23 and 24, 2024, Kerns personally and repeatedly sold fentanyl to a victim that Wakley referred to Kerns for a fee. This victim died soon after of a fentanyl overdose. Upon arresting Kerns at his residence on Dec. 9, 2024, law enforcement seized around 1,000 fentanyl pills, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and handgun parts. Former Fresno County Resident Charged with Managing a $10 Million Nationwide Real Estate Fraud Scheme from Prison
According to court documents, Depiano was sentenced in 2018 to more than 12 years in prison for running a $24 million fraud scheme in the Eastern District of California (Case No. 1:17-cr-172 DAD). In 2021 and 2022, while serving that sentence in federal prisons in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Florida, Depiano managed a complex real estate fraud scheme utilizing a group of co-conspirators across the United States. More Articles ...Subcategories
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Big Valley News
Central Valley's Independent News Source
MADERA COUNTY - 
FRESNO - On Wednesday, a federal jury in Fresno convicted former Sanger Police Department Officer J. DeShawn Torrence, 42, of eight counts of deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law for sexually assaulting four women whom he encountered during his official duties. The jury found that the offenses included kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, and attempted aggravated sexual abuse, and also caused bodily injury.
FRESNO - Garrett Scott Wheelen, 33, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to possessing more than 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. 
SACRAMENTO - A federal grand jury returned a six-count superseding indictment against Ronaldo Mudrano Ayala, 74, of San Diego; Angel Anthony Esparza, 41, of Indio; Ronald Paul Sepulveda, 40, of Riverside; Samuel O. Morales, 42, of Seattle; Allen David Fong, 33, of San Mateo; and Alexis Rodriguez, 23, of Seattle, Washington; charging them with racketeering and controlled substance offenses, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. The superseding indictment was returned on Dec. 19, 2024, and was unsealed yesterday following the arrest and arraignment of Rodriguez.
FRESNO - A six-count indictment was unsealed today, charging Fresno resident Austin Lloyd Kerns, 53, and Clovis resident Lakota Tehya Wakley, 21, with conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Kerns is also accused of fentanyl distribution and illegally possessing ammunition, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
FRESNO - Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced that Seth Adam Depiano, 43, formerly of Clovis, initially appeared for an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft.
