Latest news with #Cervantes'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
California state senator accused of DUI cleared after blood test shows no signs of drugs or alcohol
A California state senator who Sacramento police accused of driving drunk after a car crash will not face criminal charges after lab results showed there were no traces of drugs or alcohol in her system, prosecutors announced Friday. Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) was cited on suspicion of DUI after police interviewed her at a Sacramento hospital, where she was being treated after a car crash near the Capitol on May 19. At the hospital, Sacramento police questioned the state senator for hours and concluded she showed signs of intoxication and cited her. But in a statement, prosecutors said they reviewed all of the evidence, police reports, witness statements and laboratory results presented by police and decided not to charge her. Cervantes, 37, a first-year state senator, represents the 31st Senate District, which covers portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and previously served in the state Assembly. "Based on our ethical duty and the burden of proof in a criminal trial, the Sacramento County DA's Office declines to file any charges in this case," the Sacramento County district attorney's office said in a statement. Prosecutors received the toxicology results from a blood sample taken after the crash that tested negative for "any measurable amount of alcohol or drugs," according to a statement from the district attorney's office. Cervantes' dealings with Sacramento law enforcement began after her SUV was T-boned by another vehicle. She left the scene around 1:30 p.m. and received a ride to a hospital, where police eventually showed up and questioned her. The officers who interviewed Cervantes said she refused a field sobriety test and they "observed objective signs that led them to believe she may have been impaired while operating a motor vehicle," the department said in a statement. Cervantes strenuously denied driving while impaired after news of her citation became known. 'The accusation that I was driving under the influence is utterly false,' she said in a statement after the citation. 'The Sacramento Police Department's accusations are unjust and hold no truth.' Cervantes' office then released redacted medical records from her treatment at a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Sacramento. She said the report shows there was no alcohol or drugs in her system. Her vital signs and behavior were not irregular either, she said. Cervantes' office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about no charges being filed against her. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Guns bought in the US and trafficked to Mexican drug cartels fuel violence in Mexico and the migration crisis
The Mexican security forces tracking Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – the leader of a deadly drug cartel that has been a top driver of violence in Mexico and narcotic addiction in America – thought they finally had him cornered on May 1, 2015. Four helicopters carrying an arrest team whirled over the mountains near Mexico's southwestern coast toward Cervantes' compound in the town of Villa Purificación, the heart of the infamous Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel. As the lead helicopter pulled within range, bullets from a truck-mounted, military-grade machine gun on the ground struck the engine. Before it reached the ground, the massive helicopter was hit by a pair of rocket-powered grenades. Four soldiers from Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense were killed in the crash. Three more soldiers were killed in the firefight that followed, and another 12 were injured. The engagement was the first known incident of a cartel shooting down a military aircraft in Mexico. The cartel's retaliation for the attempted arrest was swift and brutal. It set fire to trucks, buses, banks, gasoline stations and businesses. The distractions worked. Cervantes, also known as 'El Mencho,' escaped. The Browning machine gun that took down the helicopter was traced to a legal firearm purchase in Oregon made by a U.S. citizen. And a Barrett .50-caliber rifle used in the ambush was traced to a sale in a U.S. gun shop in Texas 4½ years before. Many military-grade weapons like these are trafficked into Mexico from the U.S. each year, aided by loose standards for firearm dealers and gun laws that favor illicit sales. We – a professor of economic development who has been tracking gun trafficking for more than 10 years, and an investigative journalist – spent a year sifting through documents to find the number, origins and characteristics of weapons flowing from the U.S. to Mexico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – the agency known as ATF tasked with regulating the industry – publishes the number of U.S. guns seized in Mexico and traced back to U.S. dealers, but it doesn't provide an official trafficking estimate. The 2003 Tiahrt Amendments bar the ATF from creating a database of firearm sales and prohibit federal agencies from sharing detailed trace data outside of law enforcement. To estimate weapons flow, we gathered trafficking estimates, including leaked data, previous research, firearm manufacturing totals and the ATF trace data. The model we generated gave us a conservative middle estimate: About 135,000 firearms were trafficked across the border in 2022. In contrast, Ukraine, engaged in a war with Russia, received 40,000 small arms from the United States between January 2020 and April 2024 – an average of 9,000 per year. Our analysis also found: This flow of weapons is connected to the drug trade in the U.S. and enables increased gang violence in Mexico, causing more people to flee across the border. An increase in guns trafficked to Mexico from the U.S. relates to an increase in Mexico's homicide rate. More of the most destructive weapons come from independent gun dealers versus large chain stores – 16 times as many assault-style weapons and 60 times as many sniper rifles. The trafficking flow drives an arms race between criminals and Mexican law enforcement; the U.S. gun industry profits on sales to both. ATF oversight of dealers reduces the likelihood their guns are resold on the illicit market. Since 2008, the U.S. has spent more than US$3 billion to help stabilize Mexico through the rule of law and stem its surges of extreme violence, much of it committed with U.S. firearms. Many programs are funded through the U.S. State Department, which is facing budget cuts, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has sustained deep cuts. Meanwhile, the gun industry and its supporters have undercut these efforts by fighting measures to regulate gun sales. From 2015-2023, 185,000 guns linked to crimes in Mexico were sent to the ATF to be traced – the process of using a firearm's serial number and other characteristics to identify the trail of gun ownership. About 125,000 of those weapons have been traced back to the U.S. Our analyses show that U.S.-Mexico firearms trafficking has dire implications for ordinary Mexicans – and that U.S. regulatory actions can have an enormous impact. This adds to a growing body of research tying U.S.-sold guns to Mexico-based gangs and cartels, illegal drug trafficking, homicide rates, corruption of Mexican officials, illicit financial transactions and migration trends. The Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel is poised to be the biggest player in the drug cartel game. El Mencho, still at large, is one of the most powerful people directing the flow of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamines into the United States, while orchestrating campaigns of fear, intimidation and displacement in Mexico. The Browning .50-caliber rifle that aided El Mencho's evasion in 2015 was manufactured by a company based in Morgan, Utah, and legally sold to Erik Flores Elortegui, a U.S. citizen. Elortegui fled the country after he was indicted in Oregon for smuggling guns into Mexico and is now at the top of the ATF's most wanted list. He wasn't alone in his gunrunning schemes. According to a grand jury indictment, Elortegui purchased 20 firearms through an accomplice, Robert Allen Cummins, in 2013 and 2014. Cummins was straw purchasing – buying weapons under his name for Elortegui. Before she gave Cummins a 40-month prison sentence in 2017, Judge Ann Aiken admonished him for the pain and suffering his weapons were likely going to cause. She told him to read 'Dreamland,' which chronicles America's opioid crisis and its connection to Mexican drug cartels. In 2021 the ATF teamed up with academics to produce the National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment. It showed that the share of firearms trafficked to Mexico, already the top market for illegal U.S.-to-foreign gun transfer, increased by 20% from 2017 to 2021. Gun sales are strictly regulated within Mexico. But homicides have risen to disturbing heights – three times that of the U.S. – since the lapse of the U.S. assault weapons ban in 2004. Research suggests the two are linked. After their mother was killed by organized crime five years ago, Emylce Ines Espinoza-Alarcon's sister's family migrated to the States, she said. Espinoza-Alarcon, her children and other relatives were more recently driven from their homes by violence. 'As a parent, you try to flee to a different place where they might be safe,' Espinoza-Alarcon said. She said she believes American weapons are to blame, but there 'is nowhere else for us to go.' A 2023 survey found that 88% of the 180,000 Mexican migrants to the U.S. that year were fleeing violence – a flip from 2017 when most were coming for economic opportunity. ATF inspections keep illicit guns in check, our analysis shows. The agency's primary enforcement tools are inspections, violations reports, warning letters and meetings, and, when inspectors find violations that are reckless or willfully endanger the public, revocation notices. But the bureau's 2025 congressional budget request points out that it would need 1,509 field investigators to reach its goal of inspecting each dealer at least once every three years. The ATF is 'focusing on identifying and addressing willful violations,' a spokesperson wrote in a November 2024 email, referring to the zero-tolerance revocation policy the Biden administration put in place in 2021 that dramatically increased the number of revocations. Meanwhile, the ATF announced in April 2025 that it was repealing the revocation policy and reviewing recent rules, including one that clarifies when a gun is a rifle. The webpage listing revocations, including detailed reports, was also removed from the ATF site. This is a condensed version. To learn more about the connections between U.S. gun sales, U.S. regulations, Mexican drug cartels and migration, read the full investigation This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Sean Campbell, The Conversation and Topher L. McDougal, University of San Diego Read more: For opioid addiction, treatment underdosing can lead to fentanyl overdosing – a physician explains Gun trafficking from the US to Mexico: The drug connection US gun trafficking to Mexico: Independent gun shops supply the most dangerous weapons The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
West Australian
6 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Mid West football round wrap: Coorow and Cervantes pick-up wins in games of the round
Cervantes claimed an 82-point win away from home on Saturday in game of the round in the Central Midlands Coastal Football League against Jurien Bay. Cervantes' defensive unit was strong and only conceded two goals for the match. Cervantes' James Corner collected six goals in the thumping win while teammate Leo Lambert walked away with a four-goal bag. Jurien Bay failed to draw blood on the scoreboard until the third quarter, with only Matthew Bogensperger and Liam Howarth kicking majors for the home side. Best on ground for Jurien Bay were the two goal kickers — Bogensperger and Howarth, along with Bailey Marriott, Jarrad Kennedy and Rhys Murray. For Cervantes it was Joshua Harris who was named best for his side in the win along with teammates Jake Stergiou, Matthew Murray, Lochie Huntley and Connor Watts. It was a fairly low-scoring first half from both sides in a tight contest to begin with before Cervantes jumped out of the block early in the third term to run away with the game from then on. A five-goal third term saw Cervantes in the drivers seat as Jurien Bay were inaccurate in front of goal with just one major in the third and one in the fourth. Cervantes sealed the deal in the last term with a seven goal quarter. FInal score, Cervantes 15.14 (104) to Jurien Bay 2.10 (22). OTHER GAMES: Dandaragan def. Lancelin Ledge Point, 20.19 (139) to 5.8 (38) BYE: Moora NORTH MIDLANDS FOOTBALL LEAGUE Coorow Latham Magpies continue to march on in season 2025 with a perfect record of five wins after they defeated Three Springs on Saturday in what was game of the round in the NMFL. Isaiah Mogridge booted five goals for the Magpies with teammate Kasey Cox collecting three in the win for Coorow. Three Springs were clinical in front of goal, only kicking two behinds in the contest. Ethan Councillor kicked five for Three Springs while Keenan Mawson impressed with three. Three Springs' Bradley Roworth was best for his side with Kade Gillingham, Reece Hutton, Antoine Garlett and Cayle Higginson shining bright. For Coorow it was Rhys Johns who was awarded the honours of best on ground for the visiting side with Riley Cunningham, Lachy Zanker, Isaiah Mogridge and Nathan Pearce also named among their best on Saturday. Three Springs trailed going into half-time by 16 points before a big quarter from Coorow saw the lead get drawn out to 25 points at the end of the third quarter. Three Springs fought back in the fourth, only conceding one goal from Coorow while the home side kicked three. It was too late however for Three Springs as Coorow walked away with the win. The final score was Coorow Latham 14.13 (97) to Three Springs 13.2 (80). OTHER GAMES: Carnamah Perenjori def. Mingenew, 13.14 (92) to 8.7 (55) Dongara def. Morawa, 10.10 (70) to 8.4 (52) At the time of print, no results had been published in the game between Warriors and Ramblers in the Gascoyne Football Association.
Politico
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Drug tests, denials and videotape
Presented by Our Sun. Our Power. RELEASE THE TAPE: The plot twists continue in the ongoing saga of Sabrina Cervantes' DUI case. Sacramento police said last night the Democratic state senator from Riverside — who has denied wrongdoing and mounted a forceful defense — was driving under the influence on Monday afternoon when she was involved in a two-car collision not far from the Capitol, as Melanie Mason and your two newsletter writers scooped last night. Officer Allison Smith, a Sacramento police spokesperson, confirmed today that officers cited Cervantes because they believed she was under the influence of drugs based on 'physical signs they observed' during a DUI investigation, though she declined to share specifics. Prosecutors will wait for lab results before they decide whether to charge Cervantes with a DUI, as we reported this morning. Police are also pushing back on Cervantes' contention that officers 'accosted' her at the hospital after the incident, saying they have body camera footage that disproves the senator's accusations. Smith said that after reviewing the video, she 'didn't see any indication Senator Cervantes was accosted by officers.' 'Officers conducted a thorough investigation and remained professional and respectful throughout it,' Smith wrote. Cervantes this afternoon released a revised statement saying, 'The lab results I sought in the hospital show conclusively I had no alcohol or drugs in my system,' after initially mentioning only alcohol in her denial. All of this comes just as Cervantes' sister, Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, launches her second Assembly campaign after losing to a GOP opponent last fall. A post on her Cervantes for Assembly Instagram page advertises a 'backyard BBQ campaign kick-off' tomorrow near Riverside. 'Every day, I witness our movement to take back AD-58 growing stronger!' the post said. Lest we forget, Clarissa Cervantes has previously been charged with two DUIs of her own. That may have factored into her failed bid to secure her sister's Assembly seat after Sabrina Cervantes opted to succeed state Sen. Richard Roth last year. Republican Leticia Castillo turned the district red, one of two embarrassing Southern California seat flips for Assembly Democrats in November. To no one's surprise, Republicans immediately pounced on the scandal, dubbing the senator 'swervin' Cervantes.' 'The Cervantes family tradition: hold public office, rack up DUIs, then play the victim,' the Riverside County Republican Party wrote in an X post. 'Sabrina's latest citation is just the latest chapter in a story of zero accountability. #SwervinCervantes' IT'S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY BUDGET BLUES: California's economic power players are treading water through a sea of bad budget news and federal uncertainty. They came together today in Sacramento to discuss those challenges during a panel hosted by our own Blake Jones at UCLA Anderson's 2nd Annual California Economic Futures Forum. CalChamber CEO Jennifer Barrera, Senate budget director Chris Woods and former GoBiz head Lenny Mendonca all discussed how they're struggling with the ripple effects of California's $12 billion spending gap, its housing crisis and President Donald Trump's ever-changing tariff policies. 'All of us up here, and folks all across the state and the country, are concurrently dealing with 'what's our future?' and trying to figure out how we navigate through uncertainty and chaos,' said Graham Knaus, CEO of the California State Association of Counties. 'At the same time, there's stuff right in front of us today that we still have to solve.' IN OTHER NEWS WHAT'S HHAPPENING?: Members of the Big City Mayors traveled to Sacramento today to meet with Gov. Gavin Newsom and urge him to authorize more rounds of homelessness funding grants after the money was not included in this year's budget proposal. The mayoral delegation included Patricia Lock Dawson of Riverside, Todd Gloria of San Diego, Daniel Lurie of San Francisco, Kevin McCarty of Sacramento, Rex Richardson of Long Beach, Karen Goh of Bakersfield and Larry Argan of Irvine. At a news conference today, the group touted programs that relied on the grant funding known as HHAP and stressed the importance of continued state dollars. McCarty, who said he had been up late the night before working on Sacramento's budget, said about half of his city's homeless programs depend on the grant money. Without it, he said, 'we would shut down our shelter facilities.' NOT SO FAST: Turns out, California journalists won't be getting a sizable chunk of promised funding from Google and the state after the tech company and Newsom downsized a landmark deal to funnel millions of dollars to newsrooms, our Tyler Katzenberger and Christine Mui report. Google, for now, will drop its 2025 contribution to the program to $10 million from $15 million. The move matches California's pledge, with Newsom slashing state funding for the deal to $10 million from $30 million last week in his plan to close a $12 billion budget deficit. However, Google could still increase its contribution, pledging to match up to $5 million in any donations made to the newsroom fund, meaning its final 2025 contribution may meet the initial $15 million figure if public, private or philanthropic groups donate enough money. WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — California public school enrollment dropped .54% from last year, marking seven straight years of a steady downfall. (Los Angeles Times) — Funding for the FUEL Network, which gives legal aid to immigrants in Sacramento, is at risk amid the city's $44 million structural budget deficit. (Sacramento Bee) — The Oakland neighborhood San Antonio Park has the most equal distribution of racial identities of any place in the Bay Area, as the city faces a rise in gentrification. (San Francisco Chronicle) AROUND THE STATE — San Diego County leaders say that the region's homelessness population dropped by several hundred people since last year. (San Diego Union-Tribune) — An assault ship in San Diego, the USS America, will get a $200 million repair and upgrade through a grant from the U.S. Defense Department. (San Diego Union Tribune) — The Santa Ana Unified School District board approved layoffs for 262 employees. (Orange County Register) — compiled by Nicole Norman
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Milwaukee fatal street shooting, 7th and Mitchell; man charged with homicide
The Brief A Milwaukee man has been charged in an alleged drive-by fatal shooting that occurred last month. The accused is 35-year-old Jose Arroyo Cervantes, and he faces life in prison if convicted. The 52-year-old man's cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the head, and his death was ruled a homicide. MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been charged in an alleged drive-by homicide that occurred last month. What we know The accused is 35-year-old Jose Arroyo Cervantes. He has been charged with the following: First-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android The backstory On Tuesday, April 22, the Milwaukee Police Department was called to a shooting near 7th and Mitchell just before 4 p.m. Upon arrival, police located a white pick-up truck that had crashed into the side of a building. On the driver's side of the vehicle, a man was slumped over in the driver's seat with gunshot wounds. The 52-year-old man's cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the head, and his death was ruled a homicide. According to a criminal complaint, a detective interviewed another victim involved and said he was a passenger in the white pick-up truck. He told police they stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross West Maple, prior to turning left onto South 7th. At that time, the car behind them, a dark-colored van with a red license plate holder, attempted to cut them off. As the man was turning left onto South 7th, the dark van also turned left and traveled northbound in the wrong lane of traffic, parallel with them, so that the van was next to the driver's side of the white pick-up truck. Per the complaint, when the van was right next to their truck, the driver pointed a gun at them and fired two gunshots in their direction. The victim told police that was when the now-deceased man crashed into the side of a building. The victim told police he knew the man was injured, but could not tell whether it was because of the crash or gunshots. While the victim ran to find help, he heard more gunshots. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News He observed a man running from the driver's side of the truck to the dark van that had shot at them moments earlier. Dig deeper According to the complaint, detectives collected surveillance footage from a nearby business, reviewed video and said it was consistent with what the victim told first responders. Detectives went to another local business and obtained surveillance video from a different perspective. The black van was tracked down to a home in Watertown. The van was searched and Cervantes' birth certificate and social security number were found inside. Cell tower data also placed his phone at the crime scene. What's next Cervantes' cash bond was set at $500,000. He is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, May 8. If convicted, Cervantes could face life in prison and up to $25,000 in fines. The Source Information in this report is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
