COARSEGOLD – A 19-year-old Winton man is facing stiff fines for not only growing marijuana illegally, but also stealing more than a million gallons of water to feed his plants. Late last week, Sheriff’s deputies discovered 100 mature plants, ready for harvest, growing on a hillside on a lot located on Ranger Circle Drive in Yosemite Lakes Park. Following the ...

MADERA COUNTY – On Sept. 23, the Madera County Superior Court sentenced Salomon Montejano, 38, of Madera, to a lengthy prison term for eleven counts of felony molestation of a child under 14 years of age, according to Michael R. Keitz, District Attorney for Madera County. Evidence presented at trial established that Montejano began molesting his victim when the child ...

BASS LAKE – A report of a single vehicle accident on Road 274 last night brought fire engines, CHP and Sierra Ambulance to the scene about a mile east of the Bass Lake Courthouse. At 9:22 p.m on Friday, Sept. 19, an Infinity QX56 with eight men on board, was westbound on Road 274, came around the corner at the ...

MADERA COUNTY – The Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for information on the whereabouts of an inmate who escaped from Madera County Department of Corrections sometime around 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19. Juan Lopez, 33, was in jail for armed robbery and attempted murder. The jail advised the Sheriff’s Office that the AB-109 inmate was last seen wearing ...

OAKHURST – Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Courtney disaster came to the rescue of an Oakhurst woman who was nearly assaulted on Highway 41 in Oakhurst on Thursday. Joshua Wayne Elliott, 21, of Madera, who claimed he spent the night in Oakhurst Cemetery, approached the victim shortly after 8 a.m. yesterday, asking her for a cigarette. When she refused, he ...

OAKHURST – Cal Fire Investigators, in cooperation with investigators from the United States Forest Service, have identified a juvenile suspect, in connection with a series of arson fires in Madera County. The fires all occurred in the Oakhurst area over the past several months. The case will be referred to the District Attorney in Madera County for appropriate action. The ...

CAMINO, CALIF. – While the investigation continues into the cause of the Junction Fire in Oakhurst, Cal Fire and United States Forest Service law enforcement officers, in conjunction with the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, have arrested a Pollock Pines man on suspicion of arson in connection with the King Fire.

OAKHURST – The Madera County Sheriff’s Office continues to host events through the rest of the week to help everyone sign up for MCAlert. Three more opportunities are available in Oakhurst for people to ask questions and get assistance in making sure they are registered to be alerted in the event of an emergency such as the Courtney Fire.

FRESNO – A strike team of Cal Fire engines reportedly heading home from the Courtney Fire today had their trip interrupted when two of the engines were involved in a major collision on Highway 41 near Shaw Avenue. The engines were southbound at about 12:40 p.m. when one engine slowed for heavy traffic.

NORTH FORK – A single vehicle crash resulted in major injuries today when a car went off the roadway just north of Putney Place on Road 274. Cara Duke, 24, of North Fork was southbound on Road 274 at about 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13. in a 2012 Mazda 3, when she reportedly lost control of her car, crossed ...