U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced MS-13 gang member Claudia Lizaola to 10 years in prison Monday for drug trafficking. O'Neill handed down the sentence at the federal courthouse in Fresno. According to court documents, Lizaola was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, a violent criminal street gang that engages...
Merced Man Sentenced for Aiding Alleged Killer of Cpl. Ronil Singh
A man in the United States illegally was sentenced to 21 months in prison in Fresno federal court Wednesday for helping a suspect try to escape to his native Mexico after officials say he killed a Newman police officer. Erik Quiroz Razo, 28, of Merced, had faced a maximum of...
This Meth Ring Stretched From Modesto to Alaska
A Modesto man was sentenced Monday to 26 years and eight months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution ring reaching to Juneau, Alaska. Listen to this article: U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced the sentence for 32-year-old Joseph Vasquez Jr. in a news release Monday afternoon. According to court...
Ex Fresno Sunday School Teacher Gets 10 Years for Child Porn
You'd think that at some point the men (and sometimes women) involved in child pornography would realize the FBI will catch them. The latest Valley resident to believe he could get away with exploiting children is headed to federal prison for 10 years. Listen to this article: Forrest Awbrey, 29,...
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....
West Side Crips Gang Member Headed to Prison for Nearly 27 Years
Federal Judge Dale A Drozd dropped the hammer on one of Bakersfield's most notorious gang members Monday. In a Fresno courtroom, Drozd sentenced Jarvis "Big Mice" Thomas, 34, to 320 months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking ring. Listen to this article: According to court documents and...
Meth-Dealing Bulldog Gang Member Gets 21 Years in Prison
Filiberto “Beto” Chavez, a member of the Bulldogs street gang, was sentenced to 20 years, 10 months in prison Monday for conspiring to traffic in methamphetamine and prostitution. U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill issued the sentence in a Fresno courtroom Monday morning. Listen to this article: The Evidence According...
Drug Dealer Shot by Fresno Police Gets 10 Years in Prison
What happens when you're dealing meth at a Fresno apartment complex, try to flee police on a bicycle, ditch the bike and pull out a gun? If you are 38-year-old Bert Harris, you are shot in the hip by a police officer and, nearly two years later, get 10 years,...
California Couple Who Shackled Children Face Life in Prison
LOS ANGELES — The desperate cry for help came from a girl who had lived in such isolation for 17 years that she didn't know her address, the month of the year or what the word medication meant. But after jumping out a window from the filthy home where she...
Ex-Trump Campaign Boss Manafort Sentenced to 47 Months
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term. Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he...