Bay Area Man Accused of Killing Woman

MERCED - A Bay Area man was ordered by a Merced County judge Wednesday to stand trial on charges he murdered a woman and dumped her body in a trash bin at a Merced shopping center last year. But ...

Homicide Hearing Provides Details of Shooting

LOS BANOS - Whether there were two shooters or one at a Los Banos park in December when Sureños gang members arrived and allegedly killed a member of a Norteño street gang was the focus of a five hour ...

Gang Homicide Hearing Postponed, Conflicting Reasons Given

LOS BANOS - A gang homicide court hearing was postponed earlier this week in Los Banos, but there were conflicting accounts regarding the reasons for the delay. Attorneys involved in the case said ...

Jury Questionnaires Handed Out in Atwater Homicide Trial

MERCED - Jury questionnaires were handed out Tuesday, a week ahead of a trial for two defendants charged with murder in connection with the stabbing death of an Atwater man in 2012. Miguel Rivera, 30, ...

Two Plead Not Guilty in Slaying of Merced Taxi Driver

MERCED - The man accused of killing a Merced taxicab driver in January bragged about the incident but also told people he “messed up” and “panicked” during a robbery, running away empty handed, ...

Two Convicted in Merced Human Trafficking Case

MERCED - A man and woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Merced County Superior Court to coercing a teenage runaway into prostitution in Merced. Samuel L. Packard, 32, pleaded guilty to a single felony ...

Los Banos Homicide Hearing Delayed After Two Witnesses Testify

MERCED - A homicide case from 2010 was postponed again this week after two witnesses testified during a preliminary hearing in Merced County Superior Court. Carlos Anthony Gallegos, 29, of Salinas, ...

Trial Set in Los Banos Homicide Case

MERCED - A trial was scheduled Thursday for a man charged with killing a Los Banos resident in 2010. Carlos Anthony Gallegos, 29, of Salinas, has pleaded not guilty to to murder and carjacking in the ...

South Dos Palos Gang Slaying Case Goes To Jury

MERCED - Closing arguments were heard Tuesday in the case against a Dos Palos teenager charged with killing a rival gang member last year. Ryan O. Suarez, 16, has pleaded not guilty to killing John ...

Witness Identifies Defendant as Gunman in Dos Palos Park Slaying

MERCED - The key witness in a gang-related homicide trial testified Wednesday that the teenage defendant opened fire in a South Dos Palos park, stood over the fallen body of John Cordero-Juarez and ...

Los Banos Man Get 7 Years in DUI Death

Justin Nappi, 22, reads a statement before being sentenced Thursday to seven years in a state prison for the 2012 DUI death of Jayden Thomas, 10. LOS BANOS - Justin Nappi was sentenced in a Los Banos ...

Bail Raised on Suspects in Case of Assault on Merced Police Officers

MERCED - Two men charged with assaulting Merced police officers last month returned to jail Thursday after a judge increased their bail at a hearing in Merced County Superior Court. Judge Marc A. ...

First Trial in Urn Theft Case Set For Next Week

MERCED - Two men accused of stealing nine urns filled with human remains are scheduled to appear today in Merced Superior Court. Marc Reid, 55, is scheduled to go to trial Tuesday before Judge Mark V. ...

Gang Members Get 13 Years For Machete Attack

MERCED - Two Merced gang members received 13-year prison sentences each on Friday for their roles in attacking a teenager with a machete earlier this year. Isaac Sanchez Jr., 18, and Uriel Soto, 20, ...

Closing arguments in case of murdered mother

MERCED – The trial of a couple accused of killing a Planada woman and kidnapping her baby was in its final stage Thursday, with prosecutors calling the female defendant “the brain” and her boyfriend ...

Claims of abuse, trauma: Planada woman takes stand in her murder, kidnap trial

MERCED – Faking a pregnancy using pillows and being drugged against her will. Those were just two of the many claims made by Maria Teresa Ceja Robles, the Planada woman accused of murder and ...

Mental Competency of Accused Child Abuser in Question

MODESTO - The Stanislaus County Superior Court is trying to determine whether a 33-year-old Turlock man is mentally fit to face criminal charges of sexually abusing a teenage girl. Robert Daniel Gomes ...

Planada murder trial: Female defendant was a willing participant in plot to kill, says prosecutor

MERCED - Prosecutors in the trial of a couple accused of killing a Planada woman and kidnapping her baby focused on the female defendant Friday, saying she was a willing participant in the plot. Those ...

Ex-school bus driver makes plea deal in sex case

MERCED – A former school bus driver accused of inappropriate conduct with a 17-year-old high school student was spared jail this week after reaching a deal with the prosecution. Efrain Orozco, 58, ...

Plea deals made in deaths at Los Banos club

MERCED – The case of five defendants accused of killing two men outside the Club Azul nightclub in Los Banos has come to a close, as all of the defendants have accepted plea agreements with the Merced ...

Case of 10-Year Old Boy Killed In Crash Moves Forward

LOS BANOS - The suspected drunken driver involved in a traffic collision that killed a Los Banos fifth-grader earlier this month appeared in a Los Banos court this week, as family finalized funeral ...

Bus driver pleads not guilty in teen-sex case

MERCED – A 58-year-old school former bus driver pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Merced County Superior Court over accusations of inappropriate conduct with a 17-year-old high school student. Efrain ...

Los Banos nightclub footage may be key in murder trial

LOS BANOS - Footage from video surveillance cameras could play a role in the case against five defendants accused of killing two members of the Mongols biker gang outside a Los Banos nightclub last ...

Livingston teacher released from jail after bail reduced

MERCED - A Livingston High teacher charged with having sex with her teenage student was released from jail Monday afternoon after a Merced County judge reduced her bail by 70 percent. Judge Marc ...

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