Arrest scene on Bonds Flat Road
Lake Don Pedro, CA – A nearly 30-minute standoff ended with a mother arrested and a toddler rescued near the shores of Lake Don Pedro on Monday.
Tuolumne County Sheriff’s dispatch got a BOL (Be On the Lookout) in the morning from Turlock Police Department regarding an apparent parental abduction of a three-year-old child. They reported the suspect was the kid’s mother, 26-year-old Alisha Gonzalez of Modesto, who was believed to be in an SUV heading to the Fleming Meadows area of the lake, off Highway 132. While responding to that area, deputies were informed that Gonzalez had several felony warrants for child abduction and other related charges.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation seal
Sonora, CA A Tuolumne County man who was serving prison time for second-degree murder and arson of an inhabited structure back in 1985 has been granted parole by a state panel.
Officials were investigating a mobile home fire that occurred on May 2 of that year. They spoke with Gregory Todd Byers, who was 19 at the time, who admitted to starting the fire. He also told officials that he killed his brother, Douglas Elliott, three days earlier and dumped the body into Lake Don Pedro. The brother was later recovered from the reservoir and determined to have died from gunshot wounds.
Tuolumne County Superintendent Of Schools Office
Sonora, CA The Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Office has received a distinguished honor from California Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond.
It is one of only 20 in the state recognized as a 2021 “Model School Attendance Review Board Winner.”
A School Attendance Review Board, better known by the acronym SARB, helps ensure that students are attending classes and having educational needs met, regardless of life challenges.
Thurmond says, “These 19 school districts, and one county office of education, created exemplary plans and worked hard to follow through on them to help students stay engaged in their education all during the unprecedented closure of our schools due to a global pandemic.”
Updated David Lewis Pacheco
Sonora, CA A man who targeted local youths on social media in order to obtain explicit photos and sexual acts now has more charges filed against him.
The Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office reports that an amendment was filed alleging now 54 accounts against 30-year-old David Pacheco of Crystal Falls. We reported earlier that he allegedly used the app SnapChat to communicate with local youth in hopes of trading marijuana for things like sex acts and illicit photos. The first amendment filed by the DA’s Office listed 32 alleged accounts, but the revised amendment has 22 more.
Charges Filed
Criminal charges have been filed against Joseph Maloney and Nicole Sparks in the January 2019 death of 23-month-old Koltyn Blackwood. Maloney, 26 of Sonora, is charged with second-degree murder and assault on a child causing death and he and Sparks, 23, are both charged with child abuse. The two-year, on-going investigation by the Sonora Police Department and Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office issued arrested warrants on Monday, January 25. Maloney was arrested at his home in Sonora. His bail is set at $1,000,000. Sparks’ arrest warrant remains outstanding. Her bail is set at $25,000.
Acting District Attorney of Tuolumne County Eric Hovatter and Chief of the Sonora Police Department Turu VanderWiel made the announcement stating the charges are th