News

MADERA – One of the city of Madera’s longest standing buildings was destroyed by fire Monday afternoon. The Madera Mini-Mall building originally built by Captain Russell Perry Mace at the turn of the 20^th century caught fire somewhere near the back of the building, near the old Madera Bowling Alley (Believer's Church), around 3:00 pm and by 5:00 pm the structure was a total loss. Thankfully, no one was injured during this tragic event.

The Mace Hotel, as it was first known, played host to Royalty, Business Tycoons, Presidents, and Presidential hopefuls during its early history. The original wooden structure burnt down in 1885 but was rebuilt at the corner of North ‘E’ Street and Yosemite Avenue soon after, this time using brick.  It was one of the first stops for the stagecoach ride that would take tourists up to the newly created Yosemite National Park. That two-story building stood at the entrance to Downtown Madera until 3:00 pm Monday. Now like the 350 pound Captain Russell Perry Mace who built it, the building is a part of history.

CHOWCHILLA – The Chowchilla Police Department notified the Chowchilla Union High School District administration of a violent threat to the high school populations Thursday evening.  The police department with the Madera County Sheriff's Department responded to this threat and a suspect was taken into custody by 10:00 p.m. that night.

Friday morning a rumor of a second possible threat and possible weapon on the campus at CUHS was spread through social media. These social media posts had few facts and no specific names of alleged suspects. To rule out the possible threat and any weapons on campus, the Chowchilla Police Department along with the administration decided to call a precautionary lockdown. During this precautionary lockdown, all classrooms were searched as well as all students and their belongings.

SELMA – An eight-year-old was killed Saturday night when a suspected drunk driver crashed into the car the boy was riding in with his parents near Selma. According to the California Highway Patrol, the boy and his parents, Meghan Martzen (29) and driver Scott Martzen (33) were in their Kia Optima eastbound on Rose Avenue at Bethel Avenue just after 10 p.m.

The suspect, Karmjit Singh (35), failed to stop at a flashing stop sign on northbound Bethel Avenue at speeds near 100 mph. Rose Avenue is not controlled by a stop sign.

FRESNO -  A federal grand jury returned a nine-count superseding indictment today against Erik Razo-Quiroz, 29, of Merced; Adrian Virgen-Mendoza, 25, of Fairfield; Conrado Virgen Mendoza, 34, of Chowchilla; Erasmo Villegas-Suarez, 36, of Buttonwillow; Ana Leydi Cervantes-Sanchez, 31, of Newman; Bernabe Madrigal-Castaneda, 59, of Lamont; and Maria Luisa Moreno, 57, of Lamont, adding six new charges relating to fraudulent identification documents to the previous charges of conspiring to harbor an alien and, as to Razo, being a felon and an alien in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, between December 26, 2018, and December 28, 2018, the defendants conspired to harbor and conceal Paulo Virgen Mendoza as he attempted to flee from California to Mexico to avoid prosecution for the murder of Newman Police Corporal Ronil Singh. It is alleged that in the early hours of December 26, 2018, Mendoza, an alien not lawfully present in the United States, shot and killed Corporal Singh.

FRESNO -  Jose Manuel Sotelo-Mendoza, 26, of Ceres, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.  According to court documents, Sotelo and his co-defendant Oscar Ivan Salazar-Avalos, 28, a citizen of Mexico, delivered 15 pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover officer in Delano after Salazar negotiated with the officer to sell the drug for $3,400 per pound.

In pleading guilty, Salazar acknowledged that he and Sotelo had met his source of supply in Castaic in the northern part of Los Angeles County to obtain the 15 pounds of methamphetamine. In addition, Salazar indicated that they intended to make $51,000 on the deal.

FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Scott Matthew Trischler, 24, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of enticement of a minor, and one count of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to a criminal complaint, Trischler developed a relationship with a minor in Madera County while playing an online game with her. Trischler then communicated with the minor through Kik Messenger, Skype, TextNow, and Google Hangouts. He convinced her to create and transmit to him images of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct from approximately December 2017 through March 2018.