MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff Varney today announced a reorganization of administrative duties within the Madera County Sheriff’s Office command staff. The formation of a Professional Standards Division is one of the significant changes in the reorganization. This unit will be overseen by Lieutenant Darin McMechan and will be responsible for departmental training, the personnel selection process, and Internal Affairs investigations. ...

MADERA COUNTY – A preliminary hearing was held today at Bass Lake Superior Court for Michael Lee Lapschies, 40, who was previously charged with eight felony counts of arson and one felony count of terrorist threats, according to the District Attorney’s office. Lapschies was arraigned Thursday, Oct. 8 on an additional complaint filed for a violation of Penal Code section ...

OAKHURST – A single vehicle accident in the early morning hours on Thursday, Oct. 8, sent two young men to the hospital, one with major injuries, while a third was reported to be uninjured. According to the CHP, at about 3:35 a.m. Coarsegold resident Dylan Anderson, 18, was driving a Toyota Tacoma westbound on Road 632 near Country Club Drive ...

OAKHURST – An accident last night between a truck and an SUV at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 49 had bystanders horrified from the apparent severity of the crash, yet the parties involved were seemingly uninjured according to reports. About 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, a 2002 Chevy Silverado truck driven by a Coarsegold woman, 51, was ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally during the week of Monday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015. Coarsegold family disturbance On Monday, Sept. 28 at 2:21 a.m. deputies responded to the 4700 block of Veater Ranch Road for a report of a family disturbance. One of the subjects involved ...

OAKHURST – CHP has confirmed that a local man was arrested on charges of driving under the influence following a solo-vehicle crash that resulted in a small vegetation fire on Sunday, Oct. 4. At about 9:23 p.m., according to CHP, Eric Michael Ogden, 23, and two passengers, both 24, were traveling in V1-Jetta northbound on Highway 41 south of Road ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the identity of the deputy shot in the line of duty on Thursday, Oct. 1, as 10-year veteran Rudy Mirelez. Deputy Mirelez is still listed in critical condition in a Modesto hospital where he will undergo many more surgeries on his road to recovery. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the ...

NORTH FORK – A single vehicle accident on Road 222 just north of Manzanita Lake Drive ended with a medical airlift by SkyLife from the North Fork School for one of the involved parties. Just after 5 p.m., Martin Collazos was headed in to the North Fork Supermarket when he came upon a white Dodge pickup crashed into the bank ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office says the deputy shot during a traffic stop yesterday morning just south of Mariposa is listed in critical but stable condition at this hour. They report that he is able to respond to voice commands and make eye contact with visitors. Many Sheriff’s Office staff and family members have been with him ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – Sheriff Doug Binnewies says the suspect who shot a Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputy this morning after a chase through town apparently wanted to be pulled over. In an interview with ABC30’s Gene Haagenson this evening, Sheriff Binnewies said it appears that Brian Ballasch was intentionally driving in an erratic manner and dangerously passed a marked deputy’s patrol ...