Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008

Law & Order

ACCUSED DEPUTY IN INTENSIVE CARE

A Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy who was arrested on the job last month was not arraigned Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court because he was in intensive care at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Alfred Lowell Husky, 45, of Modesto was arrested Jan. 14 at the Public Safety Center on Hackett Road, where he worked as a jailer, and charged with the continuous sexual abuse of a child. The district attorney's office filed charges 10 days later, after Husky was released on $75,000 bail and placed on paid administrative leave. Hospital officials declined to elaborate on Husky's medical status, saying that information would have to come from his family. Husky's family could not be reached for comment.

SONORA MEADOWS MAN MISSING

The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department is looking for a 24-year-old man who disappeared Jan. 25. Garry Michael Earnest, inset, left his home in Sonora Meadows about 5 p.m. Roommates told deputies they thought Earnest had gone to visit friends or family, said Lt. Dan Bressler. They alerted the sheriff's office when he didn't return. Detectives do not suspect foul play. On Monday, detectives and teams from the California Rescue Dog Association searched the area, but found nothing. Earnest is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has several tattoos: "Barger" on his right inside forearm, "Drive" on his left inside forearm and a panther head on his chest. Anyone with information is asked to call 694-2900.

$15,000 CHECK TAKEN; SUSPECT SOUGHT

Merced County sheriff's deputies are looking for a woman who allegedly stole a $15,000 check from an 80-year-old Stevinson woman. The suspect is described as in her 40s, 5 feet 5 inches tall, thin, blonde and with a mole on her cheek, said deputy Tom MacKenzie. She may live in Ceres or Turlock, he said. On Monday night, the victim awoke to find the younger woman rummaging around her house, in the 21000 block of Highway 140. The woman said she was "wet, cold and was looking for some dry clothes to wear," MacKenzie said. When the victim woke the next morning, the check was missing from her purse. The money had been an insurance settlement. The suspect "took advantage of the victim's age and state of mind to talk her way out of the house," said MacKenzie. The Sheriff's Department asks anyone with information about this incident to call 385-7445.

THREE ARRESTED IN BURGLARY, METH CASE

Tuolumne County sheriff's deputies have arrested three men and are looking for a fourth in connection with stolen property, burglary and methamphetamine. Preston Charles Magruder, 47, and Jay Corman Sims, 44, both of Mi-Wuk Village, are being held on $75,000 bail each on suspicion of possession of stolen property. They were arrested Monday after detectives served a search warrant and found two truckloads of stolen property, including tires, tool chests and automotive equipment, according to Lt. Dan Bressler. The investigation led them to a third man's home nearby, where detectives found stolen property, drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine and the makings of a meth lab, Bressler said. They arrested Vernon Leslie Hay, 57. He is being held on $100,000 bail on suspicion of possession of stolen property, intending to manufacture methamphetamine and transport or sales of meth. Detectives are looking for Christopher Lee Johnson, 38, of Willow Springs. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and about 160 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call 694-2900.

DUI CHECKPOINT SATURDAY IN RIVERBANK:

Riverbank police services will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. at an undisclosed location within the city limits, according to a sheriff's news release. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department is contracted to provide police services for Riverbank.