Page 16 - Mid Valley Times 7-15-21 E-edition

ARREST Continued from page A1
where a man and woman were inside. The officer then allegedly detained the woman and had her stand next to the patrol vehicle, as the woman was possibly intoxicated.
In a news release, the sheriff's office state that while Torrence inter- viewed the woman, he touched her against her will in a sexual manner.
"The woman realized this was an inappropri- ate behavior; fearing she would be further assaulted, she walked away to a well-lit busi- ness and stayed there until Officer Torrence left the area," the state- ment read.
Greg Garner, Sanger police chief, called the allegations "deeply dis- turbing" in a statement he issued July 7.
"Due to the criminal nature of the allegations, Officer Torrence's peace officer powers were sus- pended immediately, he was placed on adminis- trative leave and the in- vestigation was turned over to [FCSO]," he said. "The Sanger Police De- partment encourages anyone who has expe- rienced misconduct by law enforcement person- nel to file a report."
In a joint news con- ference with Garner on July 7, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said it's probable that Torrence's alleged mis- conduct isn't limited to the June 23 traffic stop.
"Based on his behav- ior and how blatant it was, we truly believe that there are additional victims out there," she said. "He portrayed a pattern or behavior that leads us to believe that
CLEANUP Continued from page A2
needed to keep the river clean.
Potential volunteers are encouraged to visit the Kings River Fisher- ies website at: krfmp. org/volunteer/ for more information and to sign up to volunteer.
“The lower Kings River is a valuable rec- reational resource for all citizens of Fres- no, Tulare, and Kings Counties,” said Robert
Sanger Police Department / Photo Contributed
J.D. Torrence has been an officer with the Sanger Police Department since 2016. Torrence, a resident of Corcoran in Kings County, was immediately placed on administra- tive leave by the department after his arrest on June 24 for an allegation of sexual battery.
this not his first time." its quick and immediate Mims said additional action investigating Tor-
evidence collected dur- rence.
ing the investigation "As the sheriff men- indicated at minimum tioned, this is horrible in a possible second vic- any circumstance, but tim of Torrence. Since it's even more so when the July 7 news confer- it's committed by a law ence, there have been enforcement officer," he televised reports that said. "That's just some- as many as eight people thing we won't stand for. have come forward with I want to commend the allegations. sheriff's department."
The accused officer Garner said that the didn't have his body
camera operating when
he made the stop. Gar-
Based on his behavior
and how blatant it was, we truly believe that there are additional victims out there... He portrayed a pat- tern or behavior that leads us to believe that this not his first time.
— Margaret Mims Fresno County Sheriff on suspended Sanger police officer J.D. Torrence
department also will initiate an internal in- vestigation on Torrence, but for now the main fo- cus is the sheriff's office criminal investigation.
Sheriff's detectives believe there may be other victims who have had inappropriate inter- actions with Torrence, but did not file a report. The FCSO said that any- one with such informa- tion is asked to contact Sgt. Chad Stokes at (559) 600-8144, Crime Stop- pers at (559) 498-7867, or go online to valley- crimestoppers.org. Per- sons can remain anony- mous and may be eligi- ble for a cash reward.
CHAMBER Continued from page A1
District Board where he served 16 years.
After leaving the school board, Marcan- tonio joined the Sanger Historical Society where he has served as president. He has worked on expanding the Sanger Depot Mu- seum and helped facili- tate the formation of the Sanger Sports Hall of Fame.
Noller, a multiple times president of the Sanger Eagles, began playing Santa Claus at the club and extended his service to the point is he is Santa for the Elks Club, Sanger Rota- ry, some Sanger schools and the city. He serves as Santa at the annual tree lighting and the Sanger Toyland Parade.
Noller's other com- munity involvement includes Sanger AM- VETS, HOPE Sanger, the Sanger Community Task Force. In recent years, he has offered the Sanger Eagles fa- cility to the annual Apache Football Boost- er Barbecue.
The Chamber's 2021 Mr. and Mrs. Farmer of the Year award winner is Eric and Alessandra Schletewitz. Eric is a third generation farm- er, with the family farm in Sanger dating back to 1926. The couple own
53 acres of apricots, nectarines, plums and peaches.
Other 2021 winners to be honored by the Chamber are Tony Avila Sanchez, Mother of the Year; Sergio Arguello, Sanger Police Depart- ment officer of the Year; and EMT Kelly Fields, Sanger Fire De- partment's Fire Person- nel of the Year. The ed- ucator and employee of the year for the Sanger Unified School District will be announced this week, and those winners also will be honored on July 30.
Further expanding on the Chamber awards for 2021 will be the add- ed recognition of win- ners for 2020: Cheryl Senn, Hall of Fame; Bet- ty Schafer Pryor, Moth- er of the Year; Dario Salazar, SPD Officer of the Year; and Adam Me- likian, SFD Fire Person- nel of the Year.
This year's Chamber Awards Banquet has the theme of "The Great Gatsby," and attendees are encouraged to wear 1920s-themed attire.
Seat is limited this year, with the club accommodating 250 guests.
For more informa- tion or to order tickets call the Sanger Cham- ber weekdays at (559) 875-4575 or email to sangerchamber@gmail. com.
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ner told assembled me- dia at the news confer- ence that SPD policy is for body cams to be operating on all interac- tion in a traffic stop or subject check.
The chief thanked the sheriff's department for
Moeller, chair, Public Advisory Group.
“This great water resource provides en- hanced fishing opportu- nities and provides our citizens with areas to camp, hike, explore and just relax at the river’s edge.”
For more informa- tion about the volunteer clean-up projects or any of the participating or- ganizations contact Soua Lee, Kings River Con- servation District, at (559) 237-5567, Ext. 115.
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