News

Updates on Bitwise Industries Issues

FRESNO - Technology company Bitwise Industries today announced several company updates. After initiating a furlough of its employees and suspending operations effective May 30, 2023, the company has terminated co-CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma L. Olguin Jr. Additionally, the Board of Directors has appointed Ollen Douglass interim President, effective June 1, 2023.

The Board of Directors has begun investigating what led to these current circumstances and events and is engaging independent experts for support. As Interim President, Douglass will oversee the investigation, drawing on his background in auditing and experience as a former chief financial officer.

Madera County Sheriff's Investigating Father/Son Shooting

MADERA - Late Monday morning, shortly after 11 am, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a local cleaning company employee reporting a family disturbance with shots fired and possible injury at a residence in the 16000 block of D Street in Madera.

Law enforcement personnel arrived on the scene and established a perimeter around the house to attempt to make contact with the suspect inside. After a period of time, authorities established communication with an adult male inside the home and entered. Once inside, deputies discovered a deceased adult male, the victim of an apparent gunshot wound. The remaining adult male, age 86, was taken into custody and transported to a regional medical center for evaluation.

Teamsters Ratify Contract at Nutrablend: Workers Unanimously Support First Agreement at Madera Facility

MADERA - Members of Teamsters Local 517 at Nutrablend – the feed division of Land O'Lakes – have voted unanimously to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement with their employer. The workers are responsible for producing animal feed.

"The first collective bargaining agreement is usually the hardest, but that didn't stop this incredible group of people," said Greg Landers, Local 517 Secretary-Treasurer. "Their patience, unity, and tenacity at the negotiating table paid off, and now they have a fantastic contract to show for it."

Madera Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Drug Lab in Madera

FRESNO - Jose Monge-Ponce, 33, of Mexico, was sentenced today to 11 years and four months in prison for conspiring to manufacture, to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in January 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at an unoccupied residence in Madera. They found Ponce and his co-defendants, Oscar Rene Marrot-Garcia, 30, of Chowchilla, and Francisco Alcantar-Miranda, 34, of Mexico.

Ceres Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking Two Victims

FRESNO - Kevin James Strutz, 51, of Ceres, pleaded guilty today to two counts of cyberstalking, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Strutz secretly made a video recording of an adult female who stayed, as an Airbnb tenant, at the residence where Strutz was living in Ceres in February 2020.

The victim ended her stay at the residence when she discovered a cell phone message that Strutz had left in a shared bathroom. Over the next several months, Strutz continued to contact the victim through multiple Facebook accounts. The messages became increasingly aggressive, including an image of the victim exiting a shower at the Airbnb residence that had been taken without her knowledge or consent. Strutz sent the image to her, demanding that she send him a sexually explicit video or he would send the photo to her friends and family.

Two Methamphetamine Labs Dismantled; Nearly 1,000 Pounds Seized in Tulare and Kings County

FRESNO - Armando Rosales Gonzalez, 35, of Tulare; Rogelio Ceniceros Flores, 37, of Jalisco, Mexico; and Carlos Bobadilla, 39, of Tulare, were arrested on May 17, 2023, during a coordinated law enforcement operation and were charged in a criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, the arrests were made as part of an investigation of a drug trafficking organization in California’s Central Valley. On May 17, 2023, law enforcement searched five properties in Tulare, Earlimart and Corcoran, resulting in the seizure of nearly 1,000 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 14 firearms. Law enforcement also discovered and dismantled two active methamphetamine conversion laboratories with numerous 55-gallon drums filled with liquid methamphetamine in various stages of conversion to crystal methamphetamine.

Former State Correctional Officer Jailed for Sexual Assault

CHOWCHILLA - A former correctional officer has been arrested for sexually assaulting 13 inmates at CDCR's Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. Gregory Rodriguez, age 54, is in the Madera County Jail pending 7.8 million dollars bail following his arrest by CDCR’s Office of Internal Affairs.

Rodriguez, who worked at the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, faces a total of 96 criminal charges, including 39 individual sexual assaults, some charged in more than one way. If convicted, he could face over 300 years - in prison.