Merced County Sheriff's Office

OPEN COCKPIT DAY - CASTLE AIR MUSEUM This morning Merced County Sheriff's Office K-9 Deputies spent the morning at Castle Air Museum for Open Cockpit day. Deputies and their K-9's performed demonstrations and had a great time interacting with the public and answering questions.

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day before WWII, commemorates all men and women who have lost their lives in military service for the United States. Traditionally, we will be flying the flag at half-staff from dawn, until noon. Today, we honor, and remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting our country. Thank you for your service! #MemorialDay2021 #SanJoaquinNationalCemetary

THE LAST TWO OF THE SIX ESCAPEES HAVE BEEN CAPTURED UPDATE On May 28, 2021 at approximately 11:30 am the Merced County Sheriff’s Investigations Bureau and Supervised Release Team (SRT) along with the US Marshals Service located and apprehended the last two of the six escapees that broke out of the Merced County Mail jail on January 9, 2021. On January 12, 2021, escaped inmate 22-year-old Edgar Ventura, was apprehended without incident in the City of Firebaugh by the Firebau...gh Police Department as he turned himself in at the police department after be encouraged by family members to turn himself in due to pressure from investigators working the case. Later that day, on January 12th, two more of the five outstanding Merced County Jail escapees were captured with the assistance of the US Marshals Office and other law enforcement agencies as they attempted to make their way to the US/Mexico border. 22-year-old Fabian Cruz Roman and 21-year-old Andres Nunez Rodriguez, were apprehended in the San Diego area without incident. On February 6, 2021, Deputies with the Merced County Sheriff’s STAR Team located Merced County Jail escapee, 19-year-old Gabriel Francis Coronado in the Livingston area of Merced County. Coronado was arrested without incident. 20-year-old Jorge Barron and 21-year-old Manuel Leon were captured in Glendale Arizona with the assistance of the US Marshals Service and the Glendale Police Department. Barron and Leon will be transported back to Merced County Jail. No further information will be released at this time and a press conference will be held on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 11:00am at the Sheriff’s Office Facility B.

***************UPADATE - FAMILY HAS BEEN LOCATED - THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP****************************** The Merced County Sheriff Coroner’s Bureau needs the public’s help locating relatives of 82-year-old Robert Gold. The staff at the Coroner’s Office have searched numerous personal records, but their attempts to find his legal Next of Kin have been unsuccessful. Locating immediate family members is a necessary process in order for the Coroner’s Office to release t...he body and allow the person to have a proper burial. Our office was made aware that the decedents legal Next of Kin are his daughters who may live in CHICAGO or FRANCE, however their names and contact information are unknown. If anyone has any information on his daughters PLEASE CALL IN. Anyone with information about Robert Gold’s legal Next of Kin is asked to please contact the Coroner’s Office at (209) 385-7369.

Walmart-Los Banos gives a generous donation! Yesterday morning the Jess Bowling Station received a surprise call from Walmart employee, Mari, offering TEN BOXES filled with hand sanitizer, wipes and soap for donation. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office would like to send a BIG THANK YOU to Walmart-Los Banos for their thoughtful contribution to our department. We cannot be happier knowing we get to serve the wonderful community that is Merced County.

CHRISTMAS IS IN FULL SWING Merced County Operation Christmas Star is out at Merced Chevrolet this morning for our annual toy drive. Come out and donate an unwrapped toy, clothing, or money donation. Anything helps and all the proceeds goes to the needy families in Merced County. Come out and see us. We have the firefighters, probation officers, explorers and deputies standing on the corners of V Street and 15th. Street taking donations.

STAR TEAM ARRESTS FELON WITH A LOADED FIREARM AND METH AFTER PURSUIT Winton, CA on December 3, 2020, at approximately 6:30pm, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office STAR Team was patrolling the area of Olive Avenue and Cressey Way when they observed a gold-colored Honda Accord swerving and driving suspiciously. The STAR Team members attempted to initiate an enforcement stop on the vehicle, but the vehicle sped off and attempted to evade the deputies. The vehicle continued swerv...ing on the roadway until it made an abrupt stop in the 8000 block of Cressey Way. The driver, identified as 32-year-old Jesse Ramos Jr., and a female passenger, jumped out of the vehicle and attempted to flee into a residence. However, the STAR Team members were able to apprehend both Ramos and the female passenger. The STAR Team members ran a background check on Ramos and discovered he was a convicted felon for assault with a deadly weapon. Additionally, Ramos was searched and found to be in possession of a loaded .38 caliber revolver, several extra rounds of ammunition, and methamphetamine. Once the STAR Team completed their investigation the female passenger was released and Ramos was booked into the Merced County Jail on several weapons charges, narcotics offenses, and traffic violations.

NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE BACK DAY The Drug Enforcement Administration - DEA announces the 19th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. This initiative aims to provide a safe, secure, and environmentally responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for theft, abuse, and trafficking of medications. This Saturday, October 24, 2020, from 10:00am to 2:00pm, The Merced County Sheriff’s Office will be providing a safe location to dispose of any unused, unwanted, and potentially dangerous expired prescription drugs. The drop off location will be in the parking lot of the Merced County Sheriff’s Office at 700 W. 22nd. Street in the City of Merced.

CONVICTED FELON ARRESTED AFTER FINDING A LOADED GUN IN HIS CAR Merced, CA On December 3, 2020, at about 12:30pm, The Merced County Sheriff’s Supervised Release Team (SRT) was patrolling the area of Cone Avenue and Bermuda Street in the city of Merced. The SRT Team watched a vehicle make several driving violations and performed an enforcement stop. As the team members walked up to the vehicle, they recognized the driver as 42-year-old George Scoggins, who is a convicted felon. Scoggins had several items of drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle. Additionally, after a search of the interior of the vehicle, the SRT Team members located a loaded Glock .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine. Scoggins was arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail on several gun-related charges.

CHRISTMAS FOR OPERATION CHRISTMAS STAR IS IN FULL SWING The Merced County Operation Christmas Star had an awesome turnout last night with many volunteers help up wrap gifts for the needy children of Merced County. We had several of our friends from CHP - Merced show up to help out. We also had several kids from our MCSO Explorer Post 322 wrapping presents. Social distancing was on everyone’s mind but it did not deter us from wrapping the presents to help all the families in need during this difficult time of year. A special thanks goes out to Amanda and Corey Gibson for bringing us all together to help make Christmas possible for everyone. Merry Christmas Everyone!

SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES ASSIST MILPITAS POLICE DEPARTMENT IN SERVING A FELONY ARREST WARRANT IN SANTA NELLA On October 14, 2020 at approximately 10:30pm, The Merced County Sheriff’s Office was advised by the Milpitas Police Department and United States Marshalls Service that a wanted suspect in a murder investigation was currently staying at the Motel 6 in Santa Nella. Based upon information that the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Kevin James Gitmed, may be armed with a gun, t...he Merced County Sheriff’s SWAT Team was requested for assistance. As SWAT Team members arrived at the hotel, they surrounded the room where Gitmed was staying and told him to exit the room and surrender. However, a short time later, a single gunshot was heard from inside the room. Several more calls from deputies into the room were not answered, so an unmanned arial vehicle (UAV) was used to look into the room. It was at that time deputies observed Gitmed had succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot . Deputies attempted life saving measures, but Gitmed was pronounced dead at the scene. Gitmed’s death is currently being investigated as a suicide by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office. For further questions regarding the homicide in Milpitas, the Milpitas Police Department is currently handling that investigation. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call the Milpitas Police Department at (408) 586-2400. Additionally, the information provided can be given anonymously by calling the Crime Tip Hotline at (408) 586-2500 or via the Milpitas Police Department Website at: http://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/crimetip

Christmas is upon us and The Merced County Operation Christmas Star will be having our annual Christmas toy drive for the children of Merced County. We know that times are hard for some families and COVID has made things even harder this year! We want to help make this holiday season wonderful for all. Our toy drive will be on December 5th, 2020 at the Merced Chevrolet Dealership located at 1485 W. 15th Street in Merced between 8:00am to 2:00pm. Come see us at Merced Chevrolet and bring an unwrapped toy, clothing, or money donation. We are even taking Venmo donations! If you have any questions, please contact Deputy Daryl Allen at 209-385-7490 or email [email protected]. Thank you for all your support during this holiday season. Click below for the Venmo Account https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://venmo.com/code

The Merced County Operation Christmas Star would like to thank Elite Uniform for donating the guns used for the raffle prizes. All the proceeds from the raffle will be used to buy much-needed toys and clothing for the children of Merced County during this upcoming Christmas holiday. It has been hard this year to have our usual fundraising events, but this raffle has helped and we are looking to have another gun raffle here in the near future.

ATTENTION CCW APPLICANTS AND CCW HOLDERS Sheriff Warnke continues to strongly support issuing Carry Concealed Weapons (CCW) license to eligible Merced County residents. The Sheriff's Office is going through a brief transition on the CCW process. Soon you will be able to self-register, make appointments, and modify your existing CCW license online. The new process will be efficient and will reduce the number of times you will be required to appear in person. Sheriff Warnke has put all future CCW appointments on pause until this new platform can be implemented. Work is underway right now to make the transition as quickly and smoothly as possible. We appreciate your patience and will keep you updated on this process.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FIND HER FAMILY The Merced County Sheriff Coroner’s Bureau needs the public’s help locating relatives of 65-year-old Diane Broadway. Staff at the Coroner’s Office have searched numerous personal records, but their attempts to find her relatives have been unsuccessful. Locating immediate family members is a necessary process in order for the Coroner’s Office to release the body and allow the person to have a proper burial.... Anyone with information about Diane Broadway’s Children is asked to please contact the Coroner’s Office at (209) 385-7369.

SUBJECT ARRESTED AFTER FINDING SEVERAL ILLEGAL FIREARMS DURING A SEARCH WARRANT Delhi, CA On September 30, 2020 at approximately 7:20am, The Merced County Sheriff’s STAR Team and Sheriff’s Enforcement Team (SET) served a search warrant in the 16000 block of Lewis Circle in Delhi. During the search warrant, deputies searched the bedroom of 21-year-old Adrian Sanchez who shared the room with his younger brother. Located in the closet was a fully loaded AR-15 Style rifle, two Glock style handguns, several high capacity magazines for the rifle and handguns, along with ammunition. All three firearms had no type of identification markings or serial numbers. The STAR Team arrested Sanchez for felony child endangerment and various weapons charges to include possession of an assault weapon.

We Would like to thank everyone that participated in the Raffle for Operation Christmas star. As of this moment, we are completely sold out of raffle tickets. O...peration Christmas star will be announcing the date of the drawing of the raffle. We will share that and the drawing video on our Facebook page. We further would like to thank you for your continued support of Operation Christmas Star and their effort to help our community during the holiday season. See more

MISSING AT RISK ADULT (UPDATE) The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team spent most of the Sunday looking for 65-year-old Keith-Ann Reid from Merced. The Search and Rescue Team focused their searching to South Merced near her residence. On August 17, 2020, at about 8:00am, Reid left her residence, 200 block of Tyler Road in Merced, and has not been seen since. Reid suffers from Alzheimer's and experiences short-term memory loss. Additionally, Reid is known to ...take walks from her residence and frequents the North Merced area. The Merced County Sheriff's Investigations Bureau has been tirelessly working this case and following all leads. Detectives have researched some of our more recent contacts with Reid and found an updated photo. The most recent photo that is now attached to this post is from body camera footage when Reid was reported missing in July 2020. If you have seen Reid or have information about her location, please contact the Merced County Sheriff's Office at 209-385-7445.

FELON ON BRACELET PROGRAM FOUND WITH A LOADED FIREARM, STOLEN PROPERTY, AND METHAMPHETAMINE Merced, CA On September 24, 2020, The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Supervised Release Team (SRT) was conducting compliance checks on an inmate, identified as 39-year-old Philip Wayne Stiles, who was released on the tracking bracelet program. Stiles was on the bracelet program as a pre-trial inmate for previous charges of a felon in possession of a loaded firearm and felon in posse...ssion of ammunition. During the Search of Stiles residence in the 1900 block of Shadow Brook Drive, SRT found a loaded .38 caliber revolver, methamphetamines, multiple different calibers of ammunition, money, and multiple different types of stolen personal documents including several Driver’s license, social security cards, ATM/credit cards, and checks. Stiles was arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail on new charges of felon in possession of a loaded firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a control substance, and several other felonies.

Winton, CA On September 23, 2020, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau were conducting surveillance in the area of Shaffer Avenue in Winton looking for 29-year-old Gerardo Valencia Jr. Valencia was wanted for felony domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon and had a warrant for his arrest. Detectives saw a vehicle Valencia has been using, traveling in the north Winton area. Deputy Dustin Bender attempted a vehicle stop, and a short, high-spee...d pursuit ensued. The suspect vehicle was being driven by a female identified as 19-year-old Joanna Mendoza who had a warrant for probation violation. During the pursuit, the vehicle crashed in an orchard and both subjects took off running. With the help of several detectives, patrol deputies, the Supervised Release Team (SRT), and the Sheriff’s Office Helicopter (Sable 1), both subjects were caught a short time later. Valencia was arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail for felony domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon. Mendoza was arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail for violation of probation, evading officers, and false impersonation.

SEARCH WARRANT LEADS TO ARREST OF TWO SUBJECTS IN POSSESSION OF ASSAULT WEAPONS AND SELLING NARCOTICS Gustine, CA On September 23, 2020 at approximately 7:00am, the Merced Sheriff’s Office STAR Team and Sheriff’s Enforcement Team (SET) served a search warrant in the 1300 block of Olson Avenue in the city of Gustine. During the search warrant, deputies found five loaded firearms inside the residence, two of which were loaded AR-15 style rifles with no serial or other identif...ication numbers. Deputies also located one ounce of cocaine packaged individually for sells, a large amount Xanax pills which were being sold out of the residence, along with approximately $8,000 dollars which were the proceeds from the sale of the narcotics. Deputies arrested 19-year-old Raul Jose Maldanado and his mother, 40-year-old Erica Sanchez. All firearms, narcotics, and money were seized. Maldanado was arrested and booked into the Merced County Jail for possession of assault weapons, several weapons charges, narcotics charges and felony child endangerment. Sanchez was also arrested and booked for child endangerment, and various narcotics charges to include sells of cocaine.

COME BUY A RAFFLE TICKET TO WIN A GEN 5 GLOCK OR RIFLE The Merced County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Elite Uniforms for their generous donations of two firearms to help raise money for Merced County Operation Christmas Star. The money raised from this fundraiser will be used to help the children of Merced County during this upcoming challenging Christmas season. The tickets are $20.00 each or 6 for $100.00. There are only 250 tickets so get them while they last.

MISSING AT RISK ADULT (UPDATE) The Merced County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the public’s help in locating 65-year-old Keith-Ann Reid from Merced. On August 17, 2020, at about 8:00am, Reid left her residence, 200 block of Tyler Road in Merced, and has not been seen since. Reid suffers from Alzheimer's and experiences short term memory loss. Additionally, Reid is known to take walks from her residence and frequents the North Merced area. The Merced County Sheriff's Investi...gations Bureau has been tirelessly working this case and following all leads. Detectives have researched some of our more recent contacts with Reid and found an updated photo. The most recent photo that is now attached to this post is from body camera footage when Reid was reported missing in July 2020. The Investigations Bureau would also like to share with the public of previously known locations Reid has been found after walking away from her residence and being reported missing. We have attached a map showing possible location Reid had been found in the past. If you have seen Reid or have information about her location, please contact the Merced County Sheriff's Office at 209-385-7445.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO IDENTIFY THESE SUSPECTS Dos Palos, CA - Since 2019 the Merced County Sheriff’s Office has taken several theft reports in the rural areas of Los Banos and Dos Palos regarding a group of criminals who have been photographed trespassing and breaking into houses stealing people’s property. By looking at the photos that have been provided by the victims, it appears to be the same group of criminals in most of the cases. We are currently looking for at least tw...o male subjects and one female subject. It appears one of the male subjects has a tattoo on his right leg. Please pay attention to the clothing, shoes, and hats they are wearing in the photos. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau is looking for any information regarding the criminals in the attached photos. If you know who they are or have any information in regards to a burglary that occurred in the Dos Palos and Los Banos rural areas, please contact the Merced County Sheriff’s Office (209) 385-7445. The information you provide could remain anonymous and could help solve these crimes. See more