Arrest made for possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material
The Madera County Sheriff’s Investigations Bureau received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material activity occurring in Madera County. Detectives identified 30-year-old Oakhurst resident Bobby Dean Alexander as a suspect in the case. Alexander was believed to be a transient and residing within the […]
Marijuana vape cartridges seized in Chowchilla
The Madera County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Avenue 24 and Road 26 in Chowchilla. Shortly after the initial report on April 2, the suspect vehicle was located by the Chowchilla Police Department, and the occupants were safely detained. During the detention, officers discovered a firearm on […]
Stolen property recovered
Following a series of commercial burglaries, the Madera County Sheriff’s Investigations Unit launched a comprehensive investigation, and identified similarities, as well as a specific crime pattern linking the incidents. During the course of their investigation, multiple search warrants were executed by MCSO, MADSET, and MADNET Detectives, and two subjects were ultimately taken into custody for […]
Scooter suspect apprehended
Madera Police Department Officers were dispatched to a burglar alarm at a beauty salon located at the intersection of Yosemite Avenue and E Street. The source of the Friday alarm was found to be a male subject who was captured on video surveillance throwing a scooter through the glass door of the business. Officer Arnold […]
DUI leads to traffic collision
Madera PD Officers were investigating a DUI traffic collision on the overpass of N. Gateway Drive and W. Kennedy Street Friday evening. The overpass was closed, but drivers could access northbound State Route 99 from the N. Gateway Drive on-ramp. The overpass was closed for an undetermined amount of time. One of the drivers has […]
Big hits, speed lead to wins
Not many teams have the type of speed the Madera Coyotes softball team, and two more teams saw that first-hand last week. The Coyotes allowed three runs in top of the sixth, but battled back for two in the bottom of the sixth for a 4-3 victory Thursday over the Centennial-Bakersfield Golden Hawks. The following […]
Coyote fall in three to Justin Garza
Although the Madera Coyotes boys volleyball team lost by 10 in the first set, they kept improving and almost forced a fourth set in a sweep to the Justin Garza Guardians. The Coyotes closed the game through the three sets, losing by 10 in the first set, then by eight in the second set and […]
Book Talk: Charlie Donlea, ‘Don’t Believe It’
I didn’t understand the meaning of the title of Charlie Donlea’s novel until I finished the book. But I should have. After all, I’ve read some of his other books, and I know him to be a master of sowing doubt in the reader’s mind. “Don’t Believe It” (2018, 379 pages in softcover format) is […]
The ‘rape’ of Margaret Haley
There is one piece of Madera’s past that represents one of the saddest and most unjust episodes in its history. Over 100 years ago a local priest was the victim of a scurrilous defamation campaign that could have sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. It was January 1917, and the priest […]