News

FRESNO -  A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment on Thursday against Kevin Crownover, 46, of Lemoore, charging him with embezzlement and theft of union assets and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, Crownover was the treasurer for a labor organization consisting of mechanics employed at Lemoore Naval Air Station.

Between September 2015 and October 2016, he generated at least 70 unauthorized checks and made unauthorized cash withdrawals from the union’s bank accounts, resulting in a loss to the union of at least $50,879. Furthermore, Crownover did so by forging the signature of the union president, which forms the basis of the aggravated identity theft charge.

FIREBAUGH - Shortly after 12:30 pm on Sunday, Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a home near the intersection of Belmont and Fairfax Avenues in Firebaugh for a report of an accidental shooting.

When deputies arrived they found Ivan Gomez, a 12 year old boy, with a gunshot wound. Paramedics tried to revive the child but the 12-year-old victim was pronounced dead on scene. There was one other minor on the property at the time of the shooting who homicide detectives interviewed to determine exactly what happened.

MADERA -  Friday morning the Madera County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service reporting a possible deceased individual who was located near an abandoned house in the area of Avenue 9 and Road 22.

Upon arrival at the scene, deputies located an adult male between the ages of 20-30 with visible injuries, who was confirmed deceased. Due to the nature of the injuries, Sheriff’s detectives responded to the area to conduct a thorough investigation.

SACRAMENTO -  A federal jury convicted Vallejo couple Marty Marciano Boone, 57, and Ronda Boone, 56, on Thursday for conspiring to launder $2 million that they received after filing fraudulent tax returns, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Marty Boone was found guilty of one count of filing a false tax return, one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering. Ronda Boone was found guilty of one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering.

FRESNO -  A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Pablo Rivera, 34, of Fresno, charging him with assaulting a federal employee, a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service who was engaged in the performance of his duties, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on January 19, 2019, the letter carrier was sitting in his mail truck near Jackson Avenue and E. Shaw Avenue in Fresno, when Rivera ran up to him and stopped him from closing the door. Rivera shoved the letter carrier into the vehicle and sped off with the mail truck. According to police officers on the scene, after Rivera crashed the mail truck into a telephone support cable on Maroa Avenue, he was apprehended.

MADERA - The City of Madera, California, and the City of Rutland, Massachusetts, have announced that they’ve entered into a friendly wager based on the outcome of Super Bowl LIII. Madera City Manager Arnoldo Rodriguez says the challenge came in the form of an unexpected phone call from a voice he did not recognize.

The caller on the other end of the line turned out to be Rutland’s newly installed Town Administrator, and dedicated Patriots fan, Michael Nicholson. “They are the geographic center of Massachusetts and the City of Madera is the heart of California,” said Rodriguez. “Given that both states have teams in the Super Bowl, Michael asked if we’d be interested in entertaining a friendly wager.”