Page 6 - Mid Valley Times 4-22-21 E-edition

HOMICIDE Continued from page A1
single gunshot wound. Investigators said that Di-
az was walking back from his lunch break when he was shot and killed after exiting a ve- hicle he’d been riding in.
A witness who works at a nearby company said he saw police cars racing by him, but didn’t think anything of it.
However, as the man (who did not wish to be identified) approached the scene, he could see a pair of shoes and jacket thrown in the parking lot of the Bravante plant, as well as Diaz laying motionless near his belongings.
“When I pulled into work I saw cops trying to resusci- tate the guy that was on the ground,” the man said. “They were trying to wake him up and trying to do everything they can for him but he was not responding.”
Mark Ediger, a command- er with the Reedley Police Department said they be- lieve Diaz had been in a ver-
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
LEFT PHOTO : Yellow crime scene tape marked and closed off the area of the Bravante Produce Plant where the April 13 shooting took place. Police walked the area and talked to the employees who witnessed the shooting or were nearby when it happened.
RIGHT PHOTO: A jacket and shoes belonging to the victim, 27-year-old Elizandro Diaz, were left behind in the parking lot of the Bravante Produce Plant on the evening of April 13.
bal argument with a man at the nearby Oaks Mini Mart gas station (northeast corner of the Dinuba-Buttonwillow roundabout) moments before
the shooting.
An unidentified man was
seen on surveillance video from the mini mart exchang- ing words with Diaz. Police
are calling that man a person of interest but did not con- firm his identity or if he was involved in the shooting.
This is the first homicide
in the city of Reedley for 2021. Anyone with informa- tion is asked to call the Reed- ley Police Department at (559) 637-4250.
Thursday, April 22, 2021
| A6 |
Mid Valley TiMes
As of the most recent update on Tuesday, April 20, there had been 100,702 confirmed cases (2.1 percent positive rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) out of 1,150,575 tests in Fresno County, with 1,646 deaths and 107 hospitalizations.
regional) cases and 13 deaths. Del Rey was at 307 cases (900 in region) while Fowler had 1,256 cases (1,000 in the city) and 20 deaths through April 20. The region that includes Squaw Valley, Dunlap and Miramonte had 316 total cases on the new data surveillance website through April 20. The county is not listing recoveries at this time to reallocate staff for new cases.
Among Mid Valley Times cities in the county through April 20 (Fresno County's new dashboard surveillance is providing more pinpoint updates for regions rather than cities), the Sanger region continued with the most total overall positive cases with 6,102 (4,500 in the city proper) and 63 deaths with no recent updates from the FCDPH website. Through the April 20 update, Reedley (including immediate surrounding rural areas) still showed 4,454 cases (3,500 in the city proper) and 68 deaths; Parlier was at 2,970 (2,500 in city) cases with 37 deaths and Orange Cove had 1,500 (2,820
In Tulare County, there were 49,443 total confirmed cases (262 active, down nine for the week) of COVID-19 with 831 deaths and 20 hospitalized as of Tuesday, April 20. Breakdowns by cities/regions through April 20 show 4,222 cases (19 in the past three weeks) in Dinuba, 1,474 in Orosi, 751 in Cutler, 269 in Traver, 60 in the rural area south of Reedley and 23 in the rural area southeast of Orange Cove.
COVID-19 update
A total of 48,350 people (97.8 percent) in Tulare County were listed as recovered as of April 20.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
An April 15 garage fire, top, and April 17 debris fire kept Reedley firefighters busy last week.
Two separate fires in Reedley April 15, 17
COVID
Continued from page A1
which in Sanger, Reed- ley, Parlier and other Fresno County cities can now hold up to 50 percent capacity or 200 people; whichever num- ber is fewer.
In cities like Fresno and Clovis movie the- aters also have the abili- ty to increase capacity to 50 percent of 200 people. The Chaffey Zoo in Fres- no and museums also can increase capacity.
Gyms and health club operations can increase indoor capacity to 25 percent while places of worship now can hold up to 50 percent capac- ity under the new orange guidelines. All retail businesses can open for indoor operations with modifications.
In addition to the 4.8 new case per 100,000 metric, Fresno County also saw the positivity rate lower to 2.1 percent. Testing and vaccination numbers continue to in- crease; of course testing is increasing at a slow- er pace. As of April 20, more than 1.15 COVID tests had been adminis- tered in the county.
Even with fewer John- son & Johnson COVID vaccines available be- cause of federal recom- mendations to investigate
complications, vaccines in the county rose by more than 60,000, to 609,728 as of April 20. Hospitaliza- tions increased by just six for the week, to 107, and the death toll since the pandemic began climbed to 1,646 since the pan- demic reports began in March 2020.
While Fresno and Kings counties moved up to the orange catego- ries, Madera and Mer- ced counties remained in red tier (substantial) for at least one more week. But much of the Central Valley has eased restric-
tions, and the next goal for counties to reach is the yellow (minimal) cat- egory. That would mean a new case number of less than 2 per 100,000 and 2 for positive tests in general.
In Tulare County, those goals are steadily closer to being reached. The positivity rate dipped to 1.9 percent to start this week, and new cases per 100,000 were at 2.9 as of April 20.
Dinuba's active case numbers have dipped to its lowest levels since early in the pandemic
last year. While the total number of cases climbed to 4,222, only 19 of those have been active in the past three weeks. That's a drop of five this week in that category.
Other county loca- tions in the Mid Valley Times region also have seen numbers slow to a crawl. Orosi didn't re- port a new case of CO- VID for the entire week, with Cutler adding just two cases and Traver one. Rural county areas outside Reedley and Or- ange Cove also basically remained unchanged.
MVT Staff Report
A series of fires just days apart kept fire- fighters with the Reed- ley Fire Department busy on the evenings of April 15 and April 17.
Crews responded to a report of a garage on fire on the evening of April 15 in the areas of D Street and 14th Streets When firefight- ers arrived they found smoke and flames com-
ing from a detached garage and worked quickly to extinguish the blaze.
A few days later on April 17, crews respond- ed to a debris pile on fire behind the Jack in the Box restaurant located on Manning Avenue.
A bystander spotted the fire and called police. That also was quickly ex- tinguished. The cause of the fires are still being investigated.
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