MERCED The sound of a bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace" set a somber tone Wednesday morning, as members of law enforcement gathered to honor fallen officers at the 2013 Merced County Peace Officer Memorial ceremony. The event is held annually in May outside the Merced County administration building at 22nd and M streets. Sixteen names of those killed in the line of duty are listed on the 8-foot-tall stone memorial.
MERCED Students are very resilient and adapt easily to change, Kathy Moser believes. Moser, principal of Farmdale Elementary School in Merced, said her students have demonstrated patience and understanding since a March 26 fire blamed on vandalism extensively damaged one of the classrooms.
ATWATER A wanted parolee was taken into custody during the weekend, but not before a handful of family members tried to stop his arrest, police reported Sunday.
RANCHO CALAVERAS RANCHO CALAVERAS — Reaction in Leila Fowler's hometown to her brother's arrest on suspicion of her slaying ranged from disbelief to anger Sunday.
WASHINGTON One of the two inmates accused of killing an Atwater prison guard was so drunk on a potent brew dubbed "White Lightning," he couldn't understand an FBI agent's Miranda warnings afterward, defense attorneys claim in revealing new documents filed in federal court.
MODESTO The day after dozens of Stanislaus County gang members were picked up on warrants, jailed for violating their parole or probation, and stripped of illegal weapons and drugs, more than a quarter were back on the streets. While they are out of jail, they aren't off the hook.
ATWATER A man was arrested this week after a stolen pickup truck was crashed, police reported. Officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Cedar Avenue in Atwater about 3 a.m. Wednesday after a black 1994 Chevrolet pickup hit a parked vehicle and crashed into a grassy embankment.
LOS BANOS A 23-year-old Los Banos man pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing an Army reservist in a hit-and-run crash in March. Jesse Ryan Fuentes stood up in court in a green-striped jumpsuit and was asked by Judge Harry Jacobs if he wanted to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. Fuentes' response: "Yes sir."
MERCED A 33-year-old Merced man who was fatally shot at Fahrens Park early Monday morning has been identified by the Merced County coroner's office as Raymond Ramos.
MERCED A Merced man was shot multiple times Tuesday evening while sitting on a bench near the Willowbrook Apartments, police reported. About 9:30 p.m., police received several calls from neighboring homes in the 1600 block of Willowbrook Drive.
The California Highway Patrol will be conducting a Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation throughout the Central Valley today in an effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries. Extra officers will be patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where multiple crashes have occurred.
ATWATER Three men were arrested in Atwater on Sunday after a traffic stop turned up drugs and an unloaded rifle, police reported.
A Merced motorcyclist is in critical condition after a head-on collision with a car during the weekend, the California Highway Patrol reported Tuesday.
One of five men accused in the robbery of the California State Mining and Mineral Museum entered a not guilty plea Tuesday, according to his attorney.
CALAVERAS COUNTY The father of a 12-year-old boy arrested in the fatal stabbing of his 8-year-old sister said Monday that he will believe his son is innocent until he is shown evidence that proves otherwise.
