Senate confirms two (holdover) nominees to US Sentencing Commission!!
Federal sentencing fans should be excited to hear that the full US Senate has now confirmed Judges Charles Breyer and Danny Reeves to be members of the United States Sentencing Commission. (And, proving that somethings can still get done in a bipartisan manner inside the Beltway, this Senate reporting webpage indicates that the confirmation vote was unanimous.) As previously noted, the original nominations of Judges Breyer and Reeves back in 2016 got stalled last Congress, but then outgoing Prez Obama thereafter renominated them for the US Sentencing Commission in January after the new Congress got to work. I had been pessimistic about the prospects of these holdover nominees getting a hearing and a vote, but my pessimism was obviously misguided.
California State Employee Pleads Guilty to $2M Scheme to Defraud the Office of AIDS Details Written by Imperial Valley News
Sacramento, California - Schenelle M. Flores, 45, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud in relation to a scheme to divert funds from the California Department of Public Health, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Flores used her employment at the Office of AIDS, within the California Department of Public Health, to coordinate the fraud scheme between December 2017 and November 2018. The Office of AIDS is responsible for working on behalf of the State of California to combat the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Flores’s scheme involved directing a state contractor to make payments allegedly on behalf of the Office of AIDS and causing the contractor to charge those payments to the state. As part of the scheme, Flores caused the contractor to pay for personal expenses on its debit cards, or
Two Indicted After Investigation into Reports of Sex Trafficking at the Desert Star Motel Details Written by IVN
Fresno, California - A federal grand jury has returned a one-count indictment against Jatinbhai Naresh Bhakta, 29, and Roy Gene Drees, 45, both of Bakersfield, charging them with use of facilities of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to a criminal complaint, Bhakta purchased and began operating the Desert Star Motel at 516 South Union Avenue in Bakersfield in 2015. Bhakta lived in a unit at the motel. Drees also lived at the motel and was employed as a handyman and general manager.
Ten Indicted for Fentanyl Trafficking Details Written by FBI
Sacramento, California - A federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment against members of a drug trafficking organization, charging them with fentanyl trafficking and other related offenses, United States Attorney McGregor Scott announced.
Jose Lopez-Zamora, 26; Leonardo Flores Beltran, 29; Christian Anthony Romero, 25; Joaquin Sotelo Valdez, 24; Sandro Escobedo, 32; Erika Zamora Rojo, 45; and Alejandro Tello, 22; all of Sacramento; and Jason Lee, 48, of Sparks, Nevada, and Rudi Flores, 27, of Manteca, are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine as well as either fentanyl distribution or possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Jose Aguilar Saucedo, 22, of Sacramento, is charged with three counts of fentanyl distribution.
Bakersfield Man Indicted for Laser Strikes on Sheriff Helicopter
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FRESNO, Calif. Andrew Nathan Hernandez, 18, of Bakersfield, was arrested today for aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on Dec. 26, 2020, Hernandez aimed the beam of a laser pointer at the Kern County Sheriff’s helicopter Air-1. Hernandez is scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.