Law & Order

last updated: July 19, 2008 04:46:27 AM

NO CHANGE IN BOY'S CONDITION: A 19-month-old Modesto boy remained in critical condition Friday evening as detectives continued to look for his mother's boyfriend, who is considered a suspect in the case. The boyfriend, Roberto Valencia, 28, of Modesto, left, was home with the boy in the 400 block of Sixth Street when the boy was found injured Thursday afternoon, said Sgt. Craig Gundlach, a Modesto police spokesman. Detectives would not discuss details about the boy's injuries. The boy's mother arrived home about 2 p.m., discovered the boy was injured and unresponsive and called 911, Gundlach said. The boy was taken by ambulance to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. He later was flown to Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland.Valencia has black hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 155 pounds. Police ask anyone who knows Valencia's whereabouts to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 521-4636. Callers to CrimeStoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

TWO SENTENCED IN COUNTERFEITING CASE: A former U.S. Postal Service employee and her boyfriend, both of Modesto, were sentenced in federal court Thursday for conspiracy to use counterfeit money, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott announced Friday. Andrea Lynn Gravelle, 38, a first-time offender who lost her job with the Postal Service, received 36 months' probation, according to a news release. Her boyfriend, Rick Lee Snow, 46, received 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of federal supervised release. Both defendants were ordered to pay full restitution. The case is the product of extensive investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service and the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez, who prosecuted the case, Gravelle conspired with Snow in March 2007 to accept counterfeit money in exchange for cash and postal money orders while working at the counter in the Hughson post office. The couple exchanged more than $700 in counterfeit $20 bills, according to Rodriguez. Gravelle had worked for the post office for 12 years.

JAMESTOWN FIRE DESTROYS HOME: A fire in Jamestown on Friday morning destroyed a house, officials reported. There were no injuries. The fire, at 6900 O'Byrnes Ferry Road, near Highway 108, started about 5:15 a.m. The family was not home. The Tuolumne County Fire Department, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and an engine from the Jamestown Correctional Facility responded. The cause of the fire is unknown.

MARIJUANA PLANTS DESTROYED: Narcotics enforcement agents found and destroyed nearly 13,000 marijuana plants Thursday in outdoor growing operations in Tuolumne County, the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department reported. Along with these seizures, the Tuolumne Narcotics Team has destroyed more than 50,000 plants in July, the first month of the marijuana harvesting season, according to sheriff's officials. On Thursday, the narcotics team seized 2,961 marijuana plants in the Jawbone Creek area near Groveland. Nobody was found. Also Thursday, the narcotics team seized 9,989 marijuana plants, ranging in height from 6 inches to a foot, that were planted recently near Reed Creek in the Cherry Lake area. Nobody was found. The narcotics team also seized 3,062 marijuana plants July 11 in the Ascencion Mountain area, near Highway 120, north of Groveland. Suspected growers were at the site about an hour before the team's arrival, but nobody was found.

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