News briefs

Monday, Nov. 03, 2008

Police

Caruthers man missing east of Dinkey Creek

A Fresno County sheriff's search-and-rescue team is looking for a Caruthers man missing east of Dinkey Creek.

Robert Willis, 38, went deer hunting Thursday and was due to return Saturday. Family members reported him missing Monday morning.

Family members found Willis' Nissan pickup off McKinley Grove Road. Willis had camping equipment and food and is familiar with the wilderness, a sheriff's spokesman said.

He is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 170 pounds and has short brown hair.

Anyone with information about Willis is asked to call (559) 488-3111.

Home-invasion report leads to drug arrest

A resident of a home on the 3200 block of East Lamona Avenue was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of narcotics Monday night after he reported a home invasion.

Fresno police Lt. Mike Doyle said the man told officers that two men forced their way into his living area and demanded cash and struck him in the head with a hammer to make him comply. They also fired a shotgun into a wall, he said.

Arriving officers found no evidence of the gunshot, but the man was treated for a head injury. Officers searching the house found drug paraphernalia as well as drugs, Doyle said.

Two die in head-on crash

The driver of one car and a 9-year-old girl riding in another car were killed Sunday afternoon in a head-on collision on Orange Belt Drive north of Linda Vista Avenue in Porterville.

Porterville police and the Porterville Fire Department pulled one driver from her burning car, but she was already dead. Three passengers in the second car were taken by ambulance to Sierra View District Hospital.

The 9-year-old in the second car was flown to Bakersfield and died there, Porterville police said.

A police investigation found that the driver of the car traveling south on Orange Belt lost control, and the car drifted onto the shoulder. She swerved back onto the road and crossed the center line, and her car collided with a northbound vehicle.

All names were being withheld until relatives could be contacted.

Alleged gang member held

An alleged Bulldog gang member was arrested early Monday on drug and parole-violation charges, Fresno police said.

Officers said a man in black clothing carrying a duffel bag began running just after mid- night on the 1100 block of South Chestnut Avenue. He dropped one bag and hurled a second one over a fence, officers said.

Officers said Manuel Soto, 31, when caught, was carrying a police scanner and laptop computer. He was jailed on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine for sale and possessing marijuana, along with a parole violation on earlier drug charges.

Gang member arrested on drug, gun charges

Fresno police arrested a man they identified as a Bulldog gang member during a traffic stop Sunday night.

Officers said the car was moving erratically before they pulled it over at Cedar and Home avenues about 7:30 p.m. A gram of crystal methamphetamine and a loaded, stolen handgun were inside the car.

George Briceno, 22, of Fresno was jailed on drug, weapons and probation-violation charges. A 15-year-old passenger was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and graffiti tools. The teenager was turned over to his guardian.

21 arrested in gang sweep

The second gang sweep in Cutler, Dinuba and Orosi within a week resulted in 21 arrests, the Tulare County Sheriff's Department reported.

Various law enforcement agencies made the arrests to attempt to stem gang activity in the area, officials said. The three-day sweep from Friday through Sunday resulted in arrests on charges that included possession of illegal firearms, probation violations, drug-related offenses and possession of stolen property.