Top stories of 2016 in Merced County: Counting down 10 to 6
Continuing our countdown of the top news stories of 2016 in Merced County, we look back at a groundbreaking deal that officials hope will trigger major growth in Merced County in coming years, the outstanding achievement of an all-time elite high school softball star and a deadly gunfight in Delhi that nearly cost a sheriff’s deputy his life.
The list was assembled by the Sun-Star’s newsroom staff based on numerous elements, including stories that were read online the most and those most likely to affect Merced County residents in the future.
On Wednesday, we re-examined stories 15 to 11.
10. Murder cases plunge in 2016
One of the most significant stories in Merced County in 2016 involved the number of violent deaths that didn’t happen.
Coming off three consecutive years with 30 or more homicides each, Merced County in 2016 has reported nine homicide cases, a dramatic drop that law enforcement hopes to continue in the coming year.
If the county makes it through the coming weekend without a homicide, it would be the first time since 2001 that violent deaths failed to reach double digits.
The city of Merced has reported one homicide in 2016, and that came just last month when a 33-year-old Merced man was found in a West 12th Street alleyway. The city reported 11 homicides in 2015 and 15 violent deaths in 2014.
Police Chief Norman Andrade has said the plunge in homicides likely was the result of a combination of factors, including the work of the Gang Violence Suppression Unit, which pulled more than 100 guns off the street this year. That, the chief has said, along with the countywide gang task force, improvements in “predictive policing” technology, “excellent police work” and help from residents all contributed the downtown.
Sheriff Vern Warnke, whose department has investigated four homicides this year compared with 13 last year, agreed with the chief. Warnke also pointed to “improved collaboration” with all area police departments, the county’s Probation Department and the District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities also have pointed to intelligence gathered during a wiretap investigation in 2015 dubbed Operation Red Right Hand that resulted in 75 arrests, including many “mid- and higher-level” gang and narcotics leaders. Officials have said some of the information gathered has helped them improve or change how area agencies are using their officers and deputies.
“We all together have been able to have a more proactive approach by working together, as opposed to a more reactive approach that has happened in the past,” Warnke said. “The continued collaboration, we hope, will help us continue this positive trend that we’re seeing now.”
9. Delhi shooting
A violent fight between a husband and wife ended Sept. 8 in Delhi in a deadly hail of gunfire when 38-year-old Jose Torres shot a Merced County sheriff’s deputy with an AR-15-style rifle before he was shot and killed by a second deputy.
Deputy Alejandro “Alex” Barba continues to recover from the wound he suffered outside a home on Harmony Ranch Drive. The 47-year-old veteran investigator has not returned to duty, Sheriff Vern Warnke said Thursday, and there is no timetable for when he may come back to work.
Torres was shot and killed by Deputy Adam Leuchner. The deputy’s use of deadly force still is under review by the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, officials said Thursday, but Leuchner, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for eight years, returned to duty shortly after the gunfight and has been praised by many in law enforcement for his split-second reaction, which they say likely saved Barba’s life and the lives of others in the area.
Torres’ widow, Araceli Garcia, said her husband suffered from bipolar disorder and was acting unreasonably when he accused her of infidelity and began to hit her after she said they should separate. She said she regrets that law enforcement was called “because I would still have him.”
Garcia appeared to give conflicting accounts of the incident, saying she told authorities there were guns in the house while also saying everything happened so fast there was no time to communicate with the deputies before her husband opened fire. She said she wished deputies had “taken other options instead of just killing him.”
Warnke has said his deputies had no other options but to defend themselves.
“He comes out with a machine gun and she thinks we could’ve done something less than lethal?” Warnke responded. “He came out with an assault rifle cranking rounds off at my deputies. This isn’t television. We don’t have a gun that shoots a net.”
The sheriff has said he and his deputies were elated when they learned Barba was expected to recover.
Deadly violence against law enforcement rose significantly in 2016, including a tragic shooting in Dallas that claimed the lives of five police officers. And just last month, a Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed in the line of duty.
8. Revenue-sharing deal finally gets done
Merced County and the city of Merced officially came to a revenue-sharing agreement after a decade of discussions, paving the way for development near UC Merced as the campus moves forward with plans to double its size and capacity.
During its meeting Aug. 16, the Merced County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the contentious tax-sharing deal with the city and heard from the university’s chancellor on the details of the construction plan, known as the 2020 Project, set to be complete in 2020.
The board vote was the final approval needed for the deal after the Merced City Council unanimously approved the agreement the night before.
At one point in the negotiations earlier this year, the City Council voted to hire a third-party mediator because the city and county couldn’t work out a deal. Merced City Manager Steve Carrigan published an editorial in the Sun-Star accusing Merced County CEO Jim Brown and the county of standing in the way of a deal. The comments eventually sparked a new round of negotiations without the mediator, which led to the tax-sharing method approved in August.
7. On again, off again high-speed rail in Merced is on again
State high-speed-rail planners made Merced’s station official on April 28, approving plans to send the train from the Bay Area to the Central Valley and saving what area leaders have said will be an economic driver in the county.
The latest plan for the $64 billion project was approved by the California High-Speed Rail Authority without opposition. After proposing to take Merced’s stop out of the initial operating plans a few months earlier, leaders added it back in with the vote.
“This is a great day for the city of Merced and Merced County,” Merced City Manager Steve Carrigan said April 28.
Leaders from the authority have said they made a mistake in proposing to push Merced’s stop back to 2029. After some prodding from elected officials from the San Joaquin Valley, the authority said it corrected that mistake by pledging to open Merced’s stop on the same day as Fresno’s station in 2025.
6. Merced superstar named National Player of the Year
Former Merced High softball star Madilyn Nickles was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2016. Nickles was honored at a ceremony at the high school with a surprise visit from softball star Jennie Finch.
Nickles is a three-time Central California Conference MVP. This season, the 5-foot-8 pitcher/shortstop compiled a 20-5 record in the circle with a 0.63 ERA, leading the Bears (22-7) to their sixth consecutive CCC championship. She struck out 308 batters in 167 1/3 innings and threw three no-hitters, including one perfect game.
She also batted .552 with 20 doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBIs and didn’t strike out in 104 plate appearances.
Nickles, who is now attending and playing softball at UCLA, was also a guest of Gatorade at the 2016 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.
This past summer, Nickles was the only high school player on the USA Women’s National Elite Team.
This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Top stories of 2016 in Merced County: Counting down 10 to 6."