Page 10 - Mid Valley Times 6-11-20 E-edition

Thursday, June 11, 2020 | A10 | Mid Valley TiMes
Sanger mask ordinance is revised to a recommendation
MVT Staff Report
In a special city council meeting held June 2, council members voted to ratify the city of Sanger’s emergency or- der regarding the wearing of masks in public – changing the ordinance from a requirement to a recommendation.
The emergency ordinance went into effect late last month and required all residents and visitors of Sanger to wear masks when out in public when social distancing was not pos- sible. The original language of the ordinance included and emphasized the word ‘shall’, distinguishing it from a city
of Fresno ordinance that was changed from ‘shall’ to ‘should’. The newly amended ordi- nance reads, “it is recommend- ed that all Sanger residents, vis- itors, employees and custom- ers use a face covering while indoors at work, while visiting a business, or while coming in close contact with someone
(less than six feet) who is not a family member or a member of a household in accordance with CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of respiratory droplets when physical distancing can- not be maintained.”
The revised ordinance also states that children under the age of two must not wear face
coverings due to the risk of suffocation.
At the time of the special meeting, the city of Sanger had reported 132 positive cases of COVID-19, and has been near the top of effected cities in Fres- no County for several weeks. At one point, it was just behind Fresno in confirmed cases.
Man livestreams while he's being pursued through 2 cities, then is arrested
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
An initial report, made just after 12:30 p.m. on June 5, was of a man — now identified as John Mathison, 41, of Kingsburg — driving a silver SUV and pointing a rifle out the window of his vehicle.
What followed, once deputies located Mathi- son’s vehicle and attempt- ed to pull him over, was a series of bizarre events and violent outbursts all livestreamed through Mathison’s personal so- cial media profile.
“The suspect drove away as fast as 80 miles per hour at times,” said Tony Botti, public informa- tion officer for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
“Once the sheriff ’s helicopter and airplane, EAGLE One and EAGLE Three, got on scene, pa- trol vehicles backed off.”
According to addition- al information from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Air Support Unit followed Mathison as he circled through a neighborhood near North
and Bethel Avenues in Sanger and picked up a woman.
The woman, shown briefly in Mathison’s vid- eo, sat in the passengers seat and listened intently as Mathison gave her in- structions. A large dog is shown in the back seat of the vehicle as well.
“Let them know who you are,” Mathison told the woman. “Let them know that you’re not in danger or that I’m not try- ing to trap you, only that I went to pick you up.”
She is then heard mak- ing a phone call. It is not known who the woman called.
Moments later, Mathi- son points his phone out to the window to show the multiple police units and helicopter in pursuit of his vehicle.
“I ain’t stopping for you!” he shouted. “You’re trying to kill me!”
A brief conversation can be heard between the couple as deputies contin- ued the chase. The wom- an can be heard pleading with Mathison not to re- sist arrest.
The pursuit lasted nearly 20 minutes as
The deputy who pulled him over quickly realized Mathison was in- toxicated and ordered him out of
the vehicle.
Mathison refused and
became belligerent with the deputy. He then sped off, reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour as he headed south on Lac Jac Avenue. Deputies called off the chase because of safety concerns, but con- tinued driving in the di- rection of his vehicle.
Not long after, depu- ties found Mathison’s vehicle crashed in an or- chard along with a second vehicle also involved in the crash.
A woman, badly in- jured was pinned inside the second vehicle.
It was later deter- mined that Mathison clipped the woman’s vehi- cle as he sped away from police causing her vehicle to lose control.
The woman’s vehicle crashed into a tree pinning
her inside. She suffers a broken pelvis and multiple injuries to her leg.
Mathison suffered on- ly minor injuries.
He was arrested and booked on several charg- es for the May 25 inci- dent, however, he was re- leased from jail not long after due to California’s Emergency Zero Dollar Bail Rule 4.
According to cpoa.org, as part of California’s re- sponse to the COVID-19 crisis, the Judicial Coun- cil on April 6 adopted Emergency Rule 4.
Rule 4 established a statewide Emergency Bail Schedule that sets bail for all misdemeanor offenses, many felony offenses, as well as viola- tions of post-conviction supervision at zero dol- lars ($0 bail), except as specified in the rule.
During the June 5 ar- rest, deputies submitted a special declaration to the judge to place a bail amount on Mathison based on the dangers he posed to the public.
He was booked into the Fresno County Jail and his bail was set at $355,000.
Fresno County Sheriff's Office / Contributed Photo
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office deputy vehicles lined Cher- ry Avenue in Sanger following a pursuit on June 5. Depu- ties arrested Kingsburg resident John Mathison, 41, after a 20-minute chase through portions of Parlier and Sanger.
Mathison drove through parts of Parlier and Sanger, eventually com- ing to a stop in the 2700 block of Cherry Avenue in Sanger.
Police were able to de- ploy spike strips on sever- al surrounding streets. A detective with the HEAT (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) Task Force suc- cessfully got the suspect to strike the spike strip, flattening one of his tires.
Once the vehicle was disabled, Mathison and the woman exited the ve- hicle as deputies ordered him to surrender.
Mathison did not comply and a police K-9 was then deployed. The
K-9, named “Arco” bit Mathison on the leg and deputies were finally able to then detain and arrest him.
The woman was not arrested.
A rifle was not found in his vehicle; however, a large machete was found and investigators believe that was the object point- ed out the window during the initial call to police.
Mathison faces charg- es of resisting arrest and evading police.
Just two weeks prior, on May 25, Mathison was involved in another vio- lent encounter with police after being pulled over for speeding.
John Mathison
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