SACRAMENTO — A Mexican national who assumed an American's identity to vote in five federal elections was sentenced Tuesday to 3 years, 9 months in prison in a federal courtroom in Sacramento. Gustavo Araujo Lerma, 64, was convicted by a jury in August of aggravated identity theft, making a false...
Former CHP Officer Charged With Receiving Child Pornography
REDDING — A retired California Highway Patrol officer from Redding was arrested Monday after being indicted on federal child pornography charges on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Timothy Allen Horwath, 50, knowingly received depictions of children in sexually explicit conduct from February to October of this year, according to...
Former Clovis Resident Gets 10 Years in Prison for Child Porn
Aric Matthew Salazar, 36, formerly of Clovis, was sentenced in a Fresno courtroom to 10 years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said. Listen to this article: Court records show federal investigators discovered in 2016 that Salazar was sharing numerous child pornography digital files....
Activists: Iran Conservationists Get Prison Time Amid Unrest
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Six conservationists working to save the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah have been sentenced to prison on internationally criticized espionage charges in Iran, activists said Thursday, even as protests and unrest continue in parts of the country amid a government-imposed internet shutdown. The case against members...
Sacramento’s Latest Reckless Law Will Give Lighter Sentences to 10,000 Repeat Felons
Jerry Dewayne Williams, if popular folklore is to be believed, should be coming up for parole soon. This spring marks the silver anniversary since Williams, better known as the “pizza thief,” received 25-years-to-life for shoplifting a slice of pizza at the Redondo Beach pier. Ever since, he’s been “the patron saint of...
China Sentences Fentanyl Traffickers After US Tip About Ring
XINGTAI, China — A Chinese court sentenced nine fentanyl traffickers on Thursday in a case that is the culmination of a rare collaboration between Chinese and U.S. law enforcement to crack down on global networks that manufacture and distribute lethal synthetic opioids. Liu Yong was sentenced to death with a...
Former Merced Healthcare CEO Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
A former Merced healthcare executive is headed to federal prison for five years for fraud. U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neil handed Sandra Haar, 59, the prison sentence and ordered her to pay $6.1 million in restitution Monday in a Fresno courtroom. Haar was ordered to self-surrender Jan. 15 to begin...
17 Years in Prison for Madera Woman in Child Porn Case
A 32-year-old Madera County woman was sentenced Monday to nearly 17 years in prison for aiding and abetting the production of child pornography, the Department of Justice said. U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd imposed the sentence on Ashley Nicole Maddox, who pleaded guilty earlier this year. Maddox's sentence also...
Evidence From Ex-Dallas Cop's Murder Trial Fuels Mistrust
DALLAS — Evidence from the trial of a former Dallas police officer convicted of killing her neighbor has fueled new questions about whether accused officers are treated differently than other suspects, including testimony that a camera in the cruiser where the officer sat after the shooting was flipped off and...
Mother of Navy Veteran Held in Iran Says He Lost Appeal
SAN DIEGO — The mother of a U.S. Navy veteran from Southern California sentenced to 10 years in prison by the government of Iran said Tuesday he has lost his appeal and she is worried that he is being forgotten by the U.S. government. Michael R. White was convicted of...