News

VISALIA  –  Daniel S. Griswold has been chosen as the City of Visalia’s new Fire Chief. In a new and very successful approach to recruitment, the City of Visalia partnered with the Western Fire Chiefs Association to conduct a nationwide recruitment for Visalia’s next Fire Chief. Highly qualified candidates from the Central Valley and as far away as Florida, Maryland, and Wyoming competed to serve in this respected and sought-after role. 

“I am extremely pleased with the results of this recruitment”, noted City Manager Randy Groom. “From among several top candidates, we found Dan to be not only a highly experienced candidate but an excellent fit for the department, the City organization, and the community. His leadership, experience, character, and competence quickly took him to the front of the pack, and he made a lasting, favorable impression on everyone during the process.”

OAKHURST  -  On December 14, 2019, around 6:00 pm, Madera County Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Robertson responded to a call for service to a business in the 40000 block of Highway 49 for a reported theft of merchandise. Surveillance video from the store showed an unidentified female adult leave the store with a large amount of clothing and flee the scene in a white sedan driven by an unidentified male subject.

During a patrol of the Chukchansi Casino parking garage around 2:00 am, Deputy Robertson observed a white sedan matching the description of the suspect vehicle from the surveillance video. He noted several items of clothing in plain view inside the vehicle that matched the description of the items taken from the store, as well as a purse that the female was seen carrying.

SAN FRANCISCO  -  United States Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) today endorsed John Dennis for Congress against Nancy Pelosi in California's 12th Congressional District. He urged San Franciscans to vote for Dennis, and for Americans around the country to support

Senator Paul said, "Speaker Pelosi's sham impeachment of President Trump, destructive policies and disastrous partisanship do not deserve reelection. San Franciscans could not have a better representative in Congress than my friend John Dennis. 

SACRAMENTO  -  On Thursday, Dec. 12, a federal jury returned indictments against six defendants who made false claims for benefits in connection with the 2018 Camp Fire and received funds from FEMA to compensate for their losses, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “In 2018, in the aftermath of the Carr Fire and Camp Fire, and we encouraged the public to report any suspected fraudulent activity and promised to aggressively pursue and prosecute fraud and abuse. Today we are announcing federal charges against individuals who abused the goodwill of the taxpayers and claimed losses that they had not incurred. These investigations are ongoing, and we are not done holding people accountable for fraudulent claims.”

FRESNO  -   Forrest Awbrey, 29, formerly of Fresno, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. The sentence imposed includes a lifetime term of supervised release during which, Awbrey’s access to minors, computers, and the internet will be restricted. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. A hearing has been scheduled for March 13, 2020, to address restitution to victims.

According to a criminal complaint, Awbrey was detected by law enforcement investigators when he was sharing numerous child pornography files on a BitTorrent file-sharing network from August through November 2016. He admitted to investigating agents that he had used file‑sharing programs for several years to obtain child pornography.

FRESNO  -  Francisco Fernandez, 26, of Earlimart, was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and possession of an unregistered firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, a search warrant was executed at Fernandez’s residence in April 2019. During the search, federal agents found and seized scales, drug paraphernalia, and cocaine. Fernandez admitted to possessing cocaine for sale to others.