Police briefs

Saturday, Nov. 01, 2008

Hit-and-run victim ID'd

The Fresno County coroner identified a pedestrian who died Friday morning after being struck by a hit-and-run driver south of Selma as Timothy Quintana, 50.

Quintana was struck at Van Horn Avenue and Golden State Boulevard by a vehicle described as a Ford pickup or sport-utility vehicle.

The Coroner's Office said Quintana was a transient with family in Kingsburg.

Tulare County targets gangs, makes 23 arrests

A gang sweep in Cutler, Orosi and Dinuba resulted in 23 arrests, Tulare County law-enforcement agencies reported Saturday.

Officers from the Tulare County Sheriff's Department, Visalia Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Tulare County Probation made the arrests as a result of probation searches, traffic stops and other contacts between Monday and Thursday.

Those arrested ranged in age from 17 to 44. They were being held at the Tulare County Jail and the Juvenile Detention Facility. Charges included weapons possession, parole and probation violations, possession of controlled substances and participation in a criminal street gang.

Detectives investigate body found in Terra Bella

Tulare County sheriff's detectives are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Friday evening in Terra Bella.

The body was found on a dirt road in the 21600 block of Avenue 112 about 7:20 p.m., the Sheriff's Department said. No cause of death was apparent, but the case was being treated as a possible homicide. The victim's identity was withheld because relatives have not been located and notified.

Anyone with information about the death is asked to call detectives at (559) 733-6218 or (800) 808-0048.