News

SACRAMENTO  -  Patrick Botello, 36, of Richmond, was sentenced today to 11 years and three months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Botello and another inmate incarcerated at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison arranged with four people outside the prison to obtain methamphetamine and heroin, conceal the drugs within balloons, and then smuggle the drugs into the prison.

FRESNO  -   Brian Zamora, 30, of Fresno, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to four years in prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, officers stopped the car Zamora was traveling in after learning that he was a wanted parolee-at-large and had been spotted in the area. Officers found Zamora’s loaded AR-style “ghost gun” without a serial number and 30-round magazine concealed in a duffle bag in the car. Zamora is a felon, so he is prohibited from possessing both firearms and ammunition.

FRESNO -  Carson Shane Wilhite, 43, of Ahwahnee, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Wilhite has agreed to pay $46,680 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for the damage sustained to the environment as a result of his marijuana cultivation activities. According to court documents, Wilhite was involved in a marijuana cultivation operation at his residence on private land in the Carter Creek watershed drainage network in the Sierra National Forest and on public land adjacent to the residence.

SACRAMENTO  -  A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Terry Francis Le Clair, 64, of Shingle Springs, charging him with sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Le Clair sexually exploited a minor in his care when in a foreign country in the summer of 2017. Le Clair used the camera on his tablet computer to create photos of the minor victim depicting sexually explicit conduct, which he then brought back to California. While executing a search warrant at Le Clair’s residence, investigators also found video recordings showing various teenagers changing into and out of their swimsuits and showering in Le Clair’s bathroom. Le Clair made these video recordings using hidden cameras he set up in the bathroom.

FRESNO - After a six-day trial, a federal jury found Ramonchito Racion, 52, of Merced, guilty today of one count of attempted sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to evidence presented at trial, Racion, who was working as a cook in Yosemite in the summer of 2019, sexually assaulted his roommate while the roommate was sleeping.

FRESNO  -  On Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, a jury found Israel Alberto Rivas Gomez, 27, a citizen of El Salvador unlawfully residing in Mendota, guilty of kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Rivas Gomez was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). This violent criminal street gang engages in racketeering, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. On Dec. 18, 2017, Rivas Gomez and other MS-13 gang members kidnapped a 19-year-old man in Mendota, drove him to a remote location approximately 30 minutes away, and used a knife and machete to murder him, all in furtherance of MS-13's criminal gang enterprise.