Car careens into garage

An accident that involved a car crashing through a garage sent an elderly woman to the hospital with minor injuries and caused a jolt of electricity to pass through a good Samaritan who came to her aid.

Holiday DUI arrests down from 2008

A holiday crackdown on drunk driving resulted in more than 100 arrests for driving under the influence through Monday night.

Turlock mother will face murder charge

A Stanislaus County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that there is enough evidence present to hold a 20-year-old woman over on charges that she murdered her newborn daughter and left it wrapped in a plastic bag inside a Dumpster behind a Turlock grocery store.

Officials seek clues to woman’s identity

A fingerprint database has failed to turn up any leads on the identity of a woman who was struck and killed on a stretch of railroad tracks in Turlock Tuesday morning.

New year brings drunken driving crackdown

The Chinese calendar may have declared 2010 as the year of the tiger, but in California it will be "the year of the checkpoint."

Woman dies after laying down in front of train

Police officers and other emergency personnel were greeted with the grisly aftermath of a woman's death on a stretch of railroad tracks in Turlock Tuesday morning. The Turlock Police Department is investigating the death as an apparent suicide.

Highway fatality an apparent suicide

A Modesto man was killed on Highway 99 near a Turlock rest stop Thursday morning in what the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department deemed an apparent suicide.

Gunfire erupts on city street; one injured

A 20-year-old man was wounded in the leg when gunfire broke out on a Turlock street. The Injury was not considered life-threatening and the victim is refusing to give out any information about the incident, Turlock Police Lt. Steven Williams said. Just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Turlock Police Department received numerous reports of shots fired in the 500 block of Vermont Avenue. One caller said they had heard multiple shots and went outside to ...

Suspicious fires under investigation

Two of three residential fires reported in Turlock over the last week have suspicious origins and are under investigation by the Turlock City Fire Department.

Son jailed after whacking dad with baseball bat

A Keyes man is in critical condition with a severe head injury caused by a blow from a baseball bat at the hands of his teenage son, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

Ear infection delays Betts hearing

The preliminary hearing for Jessica Mae Betts, the 20-year-old Turlock woman accused of killing her newborn baby and leaving it in a Dumpster behind a grocery store, was postponed because of a medical condition.

Deputies put a stop to rooster fight

A tip about a suspected cockfighting ring led to the arrest of a Turlock man and put a halt to an event that possibly could have involved 150 roosters, the Merced County Sheriff's Department reported.

Turlock man wanted for intentionally mowing down bicyclist

Turlock police are seeking a man who they say intentionally ran down a bicyclist with his truck and then waved a handgun around when witnesses tried to detain him.

Domestic violence nets prison time

A Turlock man is headed to prison for a domestic violence conviction. Robert Verrinder, 41, was convicted Wednesday of domestic violence. According to the prosecution, on Sept. 12, Verrinder kicked and punched his girlfriend who was seven months pregnant. The victim locked herself in a room with her children after the assault in an attempt to get away from Verrinder. The victim suffered bruises and cuts as a result of the assault and was briefly ...

Parole denied for convicted murderer

A Denair man convicted of a 1991 homicide was denied parole Monday from Corcoran State Prison. The State Board of Parole denied early release for Andrew Lopez based on several factors, including his lack of remorse and his disciplinary record in prison, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. Lopez was convicted in 1992 of second degree murder with use of a knife and one prison prior, for a murder at the Denair Community ...

Trial set for former detective

A trial date for Kari Abbey, the former Stanislaus County sheriff's detective, has been set for September. Abbey is facing charges of conspiracy to forcibly enter a home, embezzlement from a government entity, cultivating marijuana, and permitting a child to be endangered. A trial date has been set for Sept. 25. Abbey was initially facing charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the death of Rita Elias. Abbey was accused ...

Inmate found hanged in jail cell

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of an inmate in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail. The sheriff's department has released few details about the death. The name of the man has not been released, though the department has said he was 23 years old and was from Turlock. Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Anthony Bejaran said the death appeared to be a suicide. The man was discovered around 5 p.m. ...

Vehicle crashes into church

Someone drove a vehicle into the front of Turlock church and then promptly took off, leaving the police department to wonder if it was an accident or an intentional act. The Holy Ground Ministry at 305 W. Canal Dr. sustained significant damage to the front of the building from the encounter. The front door was ripped from the frame and the wood and brick frame work at the base of the building were ...

Horses killed on rural road

A gruesome scene greeted California Highway Patrol officers Saturday morning when four horses were killed on a rural road west of Turlock.

Bullet grazes teen

A Delhi teen was grazed by gunfire Saturday night and is refusing to tell law enforcement any of the details.

Jail escapee caught, along with girlfriend and wife

The inmate who escaped from the John Latoracca Correctional Facility in El Nido on Valentine's Day is back behind bars, as is his wife and girlfriend.

Inmate breaks out of Merced correctional facility

A manhunt is underway for the inmate who escaped from a Merced County jail Tuesday morning by tunneling out of the facility. The escape from the John Latoracca Correctional Facility in El Nido has been identified as Zachary William Johnson, 32, of Morgan Hill. Johnson's disappearance was noticed around 7 a.m. when correctional officers were conducting a routine headcount of the dorms. When the count came up one short an inspection of ...

Methadone sale nets prison time

A Turlock man convicted of selling methadone was sentenced to prison for 11 years and eight months, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. Jerry Jay Edgar, 55, also admitted two prior convictions for drug sales offenses from 1997 and 2002, and admitted a prior prison commitment from 2002. On July 31, 2009, officers from the Turlock Police Department responded to a report of possible drug sales occurring at a trailer ...

Investigators seek burglary suspects

The Turlock Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying two men believed to be responsible for a home burglary last year. The burglary happened sometime between Oct. 29, 2011, and Nov. 4, 2011 and was reported by the 75-year –old victim on Nov. 27, 2011, said police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Webb. Among the various items taken during the residential burglary was an ATM card belonging to the victim. On ...

Grant to aid prosecution in drunken driving cases

The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office was awarded a one-year grant from the Office of Traffic Safety aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on the roadways and holding those at fault accountable. The $344,055 grant will fund two deputy district attorneys to prosecute felony and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter cases involving drugs or alcohol, felony driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury cases, as well as felony and misdemeanor driving under the ...

Serial bank robber sentenced

A man convicted of robbing six banks in Turlock and Ceres was sentenced to multiple decades behind bars. Marty Rojas, 38, of Modesto was convicted on Jan. 20 of six counts of bank robbery. On Friday he was sentenced to 23 years in prison, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. The prosecution said Rojas robbed Bank of America twice and was responsible for robberies at County Bank, Citibank, Union Bank ...

Man charged with rape

A Turlock man has been arrested on a rape charge after allegedly admitting to attacking a female relative. Miguel Angel Mendoza, 37, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of rape and is being held in Stanislaus County Jail on a $150,000 bail. According to the Turlock Police Department, the alleged rape occurred in May 2011 but wasn't reported until December. Mendoza initially denied the attack in December, but during a subsequent interview with ...

Preliminary hearing set for Denair teen charged with murder

A preliminary hearing for the murder case against Denair teenager Shanna Wills has been set for June 12. Wills, 18, is charged with murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The charges stem from an encounter between Wills and her father Kenneth Wills, 62, and her mother, Susan Wills, on Mother's Day of last year that resulted in the death of Kenneth Wills and the hospitalization of Susan Wills for severe ...

Large marijuana grow found in Turlock following traffic stop

State clears abundance of DNA samples awaiting analysis

A backlog that slowed DNA testing in the state and jeopardized criminal prosecutions has been cleared, the California Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday.