Big Valley News
Central Valley's Independent News Source
DELANO - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are searching for an incarcerated person who escaped today shortly after arriving at the Kern County Superior Courthouse in Delano.
At about 10:45 a.m., officials were transporting incarcerated person Cesar M. Hernandez to a court appearance. Upon arrival, Hernandez evaded staff custody, jumped out of the van, and is currently at large.
OAKHURST - Yesterday in the mid-afternoon, the Madera County Sheriff’s Communications Center received a report of multiple hit-and-runs with a vehicle in the area of Highway 49 and State Route 41 in Oakhurst. The suspect was driving a stolen vehicle, and the owner recognized it. The victim then called 9-1-1 and stayed on the phone with Dispatch, updating the location. During the call, the suspect also rammed the reporting party’s car.
Deputies set up a perimeter in the area to spike and disable the vehicle; however, before the suspect made it to that point, he drove the vehicle off the road and ran. Deputies then gave chase down a long driveway. During the foot chase, the suspect shot our K9 Obie with a shotgun, and an exchange of gunfire occurred. K9 Obie and the suspect were both struck.
FRESNO - Yesterday, Joey Barron (35, of Fresno) was sentenced to fifteen years to life in state prison for the crime of murder for his role as the driver in a fatal crash on January 2, 2021. The crash claimed the life of 30-year-old Andres Adrian Romero. The sentence was handed down by Judge Jonathan Conklin of the Fresno County Superior Court after he pled to the charge on August 6, 2024.
Barron was driving his vehicle westbound on Highway 168 just after midnight when he approached the Shields Avenue offramp. He lost control of his vehicle while driving at a high speed, causing it to go up the shoulder embankment and roll. The crash killed Barron’s passenger, Romero.
MADERA - Early last Thursday evening, Madera Police Officers were dispatched to the 900 block of S. Gateway Dr. regarding an assault with a deadly weapon. Officers contacted a female victim who reported she was driving into the alleyway of her apartment complex with her two young children when gunfire erupted and struck her vehicle.
She fled the area in her vehicle and contacted police. During the investigation, it was discovered the victim’s vehicle was stuck several times by gunfire, nearly impacting a child in the rear seat.
CHOWCHILLA -In the early afternoon of 11/16/24, the Madera County Sheriff’s Emergency Communications Center received a 9-1-1 call reporting a shooting in the area of Road 22 and Santa Fe Drive in Chowchilla. Deputies arrived on scene and discovered an adult female victim, who was airlifted to a regional hospital for treatment.
FRESNO - Sandra Munagay, 42, of Atwater, a Senior Correctional Officer at the United States Penitentiary, Atwater, appeared in federal court today for arraignment on a two-count indictment charging her with assaulting an inmate and obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to the indictment, on Nov. 2, 2023, Munagay allegedly struck an inmate housed at the federal prison in Atwater. The same day, she falsified a report about the incident.
FRESNO - On Oct. 31, 2024, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Joel Damian Ortega, 35, of Merced, charging him with receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The indictment was unsealed following Ortega’s arrest yesterday.
According to court documents, between Jan. 26, 2024, and July 7, 2024, Ortega used a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to receive and distribute at least one visual depiction of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Ortega also used an iPhone to receive at least one visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on April 2, 2024.
