The Clovis Fire Dept went undercover this weekend, looking for people using illegal fireworks. Those caught will be getting citations Monday and Tuesday, when the mail goes out.
Citations still to come for fireworks rule breakers
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Fireworks stands stir controversy, some want them banned
Firework stands are all over Fresno and Clovis this July and are a popular way for many organizations to raise money. After a close call this fourth, one Clovis man says he wants all fireworks, even legal ones, banned.
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Illegal Fireworks Use and Fires Down for 2015
For the first time in several years no injuries related to firework use were reported over the weekend and more than a dozen pounds of illegal fireworks were confiscated but people will begin getting fines this week.
The Clovis and Fresno Fire Departments along with Fresno County Cal Fire held a press conference to release their firework task force statistics and they were happy to announce residents were a lot more responsible this year. They also said they took a different approach on illegal fireworks.It was a busy weekend for firefighters in Fresno County, they responded to a lot more fire related calls than normal for the day.
"We can attribute approximately ten of those calls related to firework incidents because of the amount of fireworks we had in the area at the time," said Pete Martinez with Fresno Fire.
Cracking down on people using illegal fireworks was a priority but they say it wasn't as bad as they expected.
"We saw a significant decrease in the amount of illegal activity in the county and the rural areas, i think people are understanding how dry and vulnerable the parcels are around them," said Ryan Michaels with Cal Fire.
Among the Clovis and Fresno fire departments along with Cal Fire only one misdemeanor citation was given and 21 pounds of illegal fireworks were confiscated.
"We really appreciate people hearing that message, understanding how dangerous things could be and taking the appropriate actions, choosing to avoid participating in illegal firework activities," Michaels said.
Clovis Fire Chief Michael Despain said they had a different enforcement strategy this year, sending undercover firefighters and officers to keep track of those using illegal fireworks.
"They identified property owners and locations, we entered it into a computer system and we'll come back this week and start issuing those citations so a number of people will be getting their citations with $1,000 fine in the mail this week," Michael Despain said.Hoping those fines will keep people from using illegal fireworks in the future but say statistics show people were more aware of the danger of illegal and improperly used fireworks.
"That means people were watching closely on how they were using them and there may have been a lot more attention into the handling of safe and sane fireworks this year," City Fire Marshall Tim Henry said.
Although it is legal to use safe and sane fireworks throughout the year, they cannot be used past 7pm.
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Boy Dies Before Being Taken Off Life Support
"Jonah is in a better place now and we tried and we tried", says Magali Panduro, Jonah's aunt.
Moments after Jonah Panduro's death, his aunt spoke with us about their journey. She says that Jonah was still reacting to his fathers voice, but that three days ago, doctors at CRMC declared him brain dead.
"It was a horrible accident, when we heard it we couldn't believe it, when we saw him for the first time we couldn't believe it", says Panduro.
It all started on June 28th, Jonah was riding on the tube at the lake, when the metal latch connecting the rope he was being pulled from, broke off and hit his head. he was air lifted to Fresno.
"We're praying and we have faith and that's why I came today to offer some hope and prayers to Lisa", says family friend Christine Vasquez.
Family members tell us that they wanted to keep Jonah on life support, despite the grim prognosis of doctors. We spoke with several lawyers about what rights to parents have, whether or not they can keep their children on life support, if the doctors suggest to take them off.
"Clearly they are going to have more than one expert look over their EEG's to determine if there is any activity and if there is no activity, there is nothing they can do to keep him alive", says legal analyst, attorney Charles Magill.
A year ago, attorney Chris Dolan represented Jahi McMath's case. she was undergoing a routine surgery, when complications put her on life support. Doctors suggested she be allowed to die, but when the family hired Dolan, they were able to transfer Jahi to a long term care facility in New Jersey where she is still alive today.
"Each of the cases, Jahi's case and this arise out of a horrible tragedy and the common factor as to who gets to make the decision of whether or not the child is alive or dead", says Dolan.
We did try reaching out to CRMC about this incident but were told that they had to respect each patients privacy. A Go-Fund-Me page has also been set up to help pay for the families unexpected expenses.
http://www.gofundme.com/JonahPanduro
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Closer look at treatment injured firefighter could receive
25-year-old Damien Pereira is still in his second surgery, this one is expected to take seven hours. CAL FIRE says hospital officials are hopeful he'll recover, but say he faces a tough battle. Here's an inside look at some of the therapy he could face.
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Protect Your Home While You're Away
Breaking and entering is a homeowner's worst nightmare. But with smart planing, help from neighbors and even assistance from police, break-ins can be prevented.
Maria Knizevski of Clovis doesn't leave town without letting her neighbors know. And sometimes she even lets the police department know. She locked her windows and doors, of course, but also takes advantage of a program that offers periodic police checks of her home. Maria says, "It made me feel better that I was on a trip and that my house was safe."
The Clovis Police Department has been offering the home check program for a few years. Citizens let the dispatch know they are going to be gone, and police volunteers take it from there. According to Lt. Brett Herschberger, "They get a list printed out and they'll go through the list daily and check on people's houses that are on vacation to make sure everything is the way they left it."
If the volunteers notice something unusual, they'll contact an officer to investigate. Police say home protection starts with the homeowner. Alarm systems and even security lights are great, but they also suggest keeping your vacation plans under wraps.
According to Lt. Herschberger, "Some criminals do a lot of research surfing the internet looking for people who are posting that they're going to be out of town. How long they're going to be out of town and that's where they start, they look for the most vulnerable places to hit."
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Gun detection technology makes Fresno debut
Before this week, gunshots in some of Fresno's most crime-ridden areas could go unreported, unnoticed and undetected. Not anymore. A gunshot detection program called Shot Spotter is changing the way Fresno police officers learn about and respond to gun violence.
"We have a technological system in place today that will allow us to more accurately and timely respond to those incidents," says Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer. "And the chance of them being arrested is far greater than it was last week."
Fifty sensors now cover three square miles of town with a history of gang and gun violence. When a gun is fired, police are alerted immediately. Dyer says the system is even capable of detecting drive by shootings, and can determine the direction of a shooter's car.
"Will say those gunshots are going east to west and north to south, and the speed. It will provide that to the officers," he says.
The police department is not revealing where the sensors are, but we know they're about the size of a football and attached to buildings and poles. Dyer says the faster response time will lead to more arrests and more saved lives, but he also knows there's another risk.
"There's always going to be a concern that there could be increased likelihood of confrontation between officers and armed individuals, but that goes with the territory of responding quicker to these types of calls."
The project is funded for the next three years by a state grant. Dyer hopes the three square miles will soon expand to nine or ten square miles.
"We have a technological system in place today that will allow us to more accurately and timely respond to those incidents," says Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer. "And the chance of them being arrested is far greater than it was last week."
Fifty sensors now cover three square miles of town with a history of gang and gun violence. When a gun is fired, police are alerted immediately. Dyer says the system is even capable of detecting drive by shootings, and can determine the direction of a shooter's car.
"Will say those gunshots are going east to west and north to south, and the speed. It will provide that to the officers," he says.
The police department is not revealing where the sensors are, but we know they're about the size of a football and attached to buildings and poles. Dyer says the faster response time will lead to more arrests and more saved lives, but he also knows there's another risk.
"There's always going to be a concern that there could be increased likelihood of confrontation between officers and armed individuals, but that goes with the territory of responding quicker to these types of calls."
The project is funded for the next three years by a state grant. Dyer hopes the three square miles will soon expand to nine or ten square miles.
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Officer Involved Shooting in Atwater Leaves Suspect Dead
A man is dead in an officer involved shooting in Atwater after police say the man rushed at them with a knife, according to Lt. Sammy Joseph with the Atwater Police Department.
The suspect died on scene. He has not been identified.
It happened around 2:19 p.m. Monday after a vehicle pursuit ended on Green Sands Avenue near Augusta Lane in Atwater.
Police say it all began when a witness called police to tell them that the victim, an unidentified woman, told her she was being held against her will. It happened just before noon at a store on the 1800 block of Atwater Blvd.
According to police, the victim contacted the witness as the suspect was inside the store. After the witness called police, she turned around to see the woman inside the suspect's car leaving the store.
Police say the victim's brother then called police saying he saw a man driving with his sister inside the car, and it appeared she was pleading for help.
Police located the driver in the area of Elm and First. Police say the suspect wouldn't pull over, even after police laid spike strips in the road.
The pursuit lasted about 30 minutes, going in and out of Atwater. It ended when police say the suspect hit a curb and his tire went flat on Green Sands Avenue.
"He tried to flee the scene on foot to hop over the wall with a knife in his hand, could not get over the wall, which time he fled. The officer told him to stop. He turned around, made an approach toward the officers with his knife. A taser was deployed, the taser was ineffective, which time he continued to come at the officers, at which time the officer shot the suspect," Joseph said.
Several people witnessed the shooting.
"He tried to hop this wall fence that's right here. He tried to hop the fence, and he couldn't get over," said Edward Kemp, an eyewitness. "He couldn't get over so he turned around, and he started running like towards us. So we kind of like leaned down, but we're still watching. And he got tased, and you see him toss the tasers off of him."
Joseph said when the suspect exited the car, he was bloody from what the victim told police were self-inflicted wounds.
Police are investigating the relationship between the suspect and victim. They say she appeared to be unhurt.
It's unknown how many times the suspect was shot, as the investigation is ongoing.
The Atwater police department is investigating the shooting. The officer involved is now on paid administrative leave for three days, which police say is standard procedure.
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State Report: Front-Loader Hit Pipe Causing Gun Range Explosion
The first of what experts believe will be a series of explanations for the deadly gas explosion near Herndon and Hwy 99 was released Monday evening.
At the time of the explosion the front-end loader was being driven by a Fresno County employee on a road that sat above the shooting range. The explosion injured the driver, two deputies, and eight inmates working at the range. One of the inmates has died from his injuries.
After months of wondering what caused the massive gas explosion at the Fresno Sheriff's Foundation gun range in April, Exponent (a consulting firm for the California Public Utilities Commission) offered this conclusion in a 260 page report.
"Our investigation indicates that PG&E line 118b ruptured when it was struck by a front loader
that was operating in the area at the time of the incident. the significant gouging, scraping and
deformation present at the line 118b rupture location could have only been caused by contact
with the front-loader bucket," This taken from the executive summary of the report.
"It's an expert hired by PG&E called Exponent. So it is a retained expert. They are hardly a neutral expert," said Butch Wagner, a Fresno attorney who represents four of the working inmates injured in the explosion.
He believes the detailed report with a first glimpse at the ruptured pipe-- and explanation of how it happened-- lacks details on the pipe itself prior to the explosion.
"The explosion ripped the ground up and set the ground all over the place. There is no way to tell from the aftermath how deep that pipe was buried," said Wagner.
While this report says the front-loader is solely responsible for the explosion, legal experts believe contrasting opinions are coming in a Fresno County investigation.
"I would expect that each entity that's been sued is going to try to limit their own liability and point the finger at the others," said Fresno attorney Charles Magill.
Attorneys say this case is most likely still a year away from any kind of a trial. A large sum of money is at stake for whoever is determined liable for the explosion. At this point, plenty of interviewing and investigating going on as each side builds their case.
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State Report Places Blame on Fresno County in Deadly Pipeline Explosion
A state report is placing the blame on Fresno County in the PG&E pipeline explosion that happened April 17 at the Fresno County Peace Officers gun range in northwest Fresno.
The explosion happened when a county worker was doing some work with a front loader. He was injured, along with two deputies, and eight inmates, one of which later died.
The 259-page report was prepared by a company called Exponent, which was selected by PG&E. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is now leading the direction of the investigation and overseeing it.
The report says, "Our investigation indicates that PG&E line 118b ruptured when it was struck by a front loader that was operating in the area at the time of the incident. The significant gouging, scraping and deformation present at the line 118b rupture location could have only been caused by contact with the front-loader bucket."
Attorney Butch Wagner represents four of the injured inmates. He says there's no question that the front loader came in contact with the pipe, but says that's not the issue.
"[Whether] the pipeline was buried properly--in other words, deep enough and with proper soil compaction," Wagner said.
According to the report, the pipe had enough coverage. But Wagner criticizes that finding.
"I don't know how they could've determined that by looking at the evidence after the explosion because the explosion ripped the ground up, set the ground all over the place," Wagner said.
The investigation is far from over. Legal analyst Charles Magill says he expects all the entities that are being sued will be pointing fingers at each other.
"The logic of it is is to limit their exposure. If it does go to trial, they want to make sure that they're not exposed any more than a small percentage," Magill said.
Magill expects that the inmates' lawyers will be bringing experts of their own.
Wagner says the report doesn't change their perspective of the case because he says additional reports will be filed by all the entities that may show negligence from all the parties that are being sued.
PG&E issued a statement saying,"PG&E continues to cooperate with the CPUC in a timely manner regarding any information about its ongoing investigation. The CPUC is the lead agency reviewing the incident. We want all of our customers to know that calling 811 before you dig is critical."
A trial date has yet to be assigned. Wagner believes a trial date could be set for a year to a year and a half in the future.
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