News

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Court of Appeal ruled that the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot suspend the licenses of drivers who fail to appear in court unless the DMV receives a notification of a willful failure to appear.  The court’s finding that the DMV’s practice was unlawful means that likely thousands of motorists have had their licenses improperly suspended. 

The plaintiffs in this statewide lawsuit—Hernandez v. California Department of Motor Vehicles—are represented by a coalition of legal aid and civil rights groups, including Bay Area Legal Aid, Western Center on Law & Poverty, The ACLU of Northern California, the USC Gould School of Law Access to Justice Practicum, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR), and the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

MADERA - A little less than a month ago, the Madera District Fair Board of Directors announced the cancellation of all of the livestock shows and auction at the 2020 Madera Fair. At that time the board all knew that there was a possibility that the Fair would be cancelled as well, but felt the need to hold off on that decision and continue to work with the county and with the State in the hopes of being able to present some type of an event to the community. 

The Board and fair staff know that there was no way that this “social distancing” Fair would look anything like a traditional Fair, but they also knew in their hearts that the community needed to be able to come together and celebrate as one instead of being stuck in our homes.

ACRAMENTO - Following three and a half years of extradition litigation before courts in the United Kingdom, a former Sacramento resident was arraigned today in the Eastern District of California, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

On June 12, 2020, Brian Arthur Dempsey, 48, was extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States to stand trial on charges that he made false statements to an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning his travel to Syria. He was first arrested in the United Kingdom on Jan. 18, 2017, and has been in custody since that date.

FRESNO - The owner of a Bakersfield truck driving school was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to sell California commercial driver’s licenses to unqualified drivers, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Paramjit Singh Mangat, 56, of Bakersfield, to 14   months in prison and a $10,000 fine for his conviction on one count of unlawful production of an identification document and aiding and abetting. The court also finalized an order for forfeiture of $100,000 that had been seized as proceeds from the fraud scheme.

According to court documents, Mangat operated driving schools in Bakersfield that ostensibly provided training to those seeking to obtain driver’s licenses, including Akal Truck Driving School and Akal Driving School. When students had difficulty passing DMV examinations, in return for money, Mangat offered to assist them in obtaining fraudulently issued, yet official licenses through Mangat’s contact Javier Jesus Hernandez-Herrera, 56, then a DMV employee.

FRESNO - Javier Ochoa-Anaya, 49, residing in Denair, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking offenses, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to the plea agreement, Ochoa received a shipment of 54 kilograms of methamphetamine on Sept. 3, 2019. Ochoa enlisted the aid of co-defendant Victoria Rodriguez, to assist him in weighing and packaging the methamphetamine.

On Sept. 5, 2019, agents seized the methamphetamine during a search of Ochoa’s vehicle. In addition, agents seized a cooler stored with the methamphetamine that contained 1 kilogram of cocaine, five loaded firearms, a bullet proof vest, several high capacity magazines, a substance used to dilute the drugs, and a digital scale.

SACRAMENTO - A Stockton man was arrested on Tuesday and charged with production and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, from April to June 2020, Jonathan Thornton, 36, produced images depicting a seven-year-old engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He then distributed the images on a darknet website. Thornton operates a photography business called Thornton Photography.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mira Chernick is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Thornton faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.