Local briefs: 2 try to flee, booked on gun charges

Two men who fled from police in central Fresno on Thursday afternoon were arrested and booked on weapons charges.

Sgt. Gary Beer said that when a police officer attempted to pull the men’s car over for a traffic violation, they sped into a nearby apartment complex parking lot near Sussex and Teilman avenues and jumped out.

The car was still in gear and slammed into a pole as the men ran into an apartment. Residents pointed out the unit to police.

Officers spotted two handguns, a Ruger .45 caliber revolver and a Beretta 9mm pistol outside the apartment and arrested the two men, who were hiding in a bedroom.

Man who fled Clovis police is caught

A man being sought by Clovis police since Monday when he eluded officers following a pursuit was taken into custody Thursday evening.

Michael Kaercher, 36, was arrested along with two associates at an apartment on the 1000 block of Lind Avenue. He was booked on charges of felony stalking, evading police and violation of a restraining order.

An officer pursuing Kaercher on Monday was involved in a collision at Shepherd and Willow avenues in which no one was seriously injured.

A 32-year-old man with Kaercher was arrested for a parole violation and a 30-year-old woman was booked on charges of possession of drugs and felony child endangerment. A relative agreed to care for her 4-year-old son.

Coroner seeks help finding kin of 2 men

The Fresno County Coroner’s Office is asking for help finding friends or family of two men who recently died.

The first man was found unconscious at First Street and Princeton Avenue on Sunday. He died at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. He was 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 280 pounds and about 50 years old. He was wearing blue jeans and a Yankees hat. His identity is unknown.

The second man is Otis Williams, 51, who died Sept. 20 at Community of lung cancer.

Anyone with information is asked to call (559) 600-3400.

Madera man arrested in burglary

A 19-year-old man was arrested Friday on suspicion of stealing household property valued at thousands of dollars near North Folk on Oct. 16, a spokeswoman for the Madera County Sheriff’s Department said.

Some of the stolen items included weapons, a flat-screen TV, jewelry and a truck. The man was out on bail at the time of the burglary, the spokeswoman said.

The truck was recovered in Madera on Thursday, and the man was arrested Friday at his home in Madera. Bail was set at $10,000.

Fire

Cedar Grove trail burn is scheduled

A prescribed fire will begin today on a nature trail in Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, the National Park Service said.

The 216-acre burn is expected to take two to three days and will take place on the floor of Kings Canyon in the Cedar Grove area along the north side of the River Road and the Kings River, west of the National Park Service pack station.

The River Road will be closed west of the NPS pack station. A segment of the horse trail that runs through the prescribed fire area also will be closed during the project.

Information: (559) 565-3341.

Courts

Church embezzler gets 11 years

Sandra Arreola, 51, of Visalia, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for embezzling more than $2.1 million from First Assembly of God Church in Visalia.

Arreola, the church’s former accounting manager and a 13-year employee, took cash from the collection plate between 2002 and 2008, authorities said.

Tulare County Superior Court Judge James Hollman also ordered Arreola to pay nearly $2.2 million in restitution to the church.

She pled guilty this month to embezzlement and money laundering.

Also …

Breakfast celebrates new Hope garden

The opening of the new Hope Community Garden will be celebrated at a community breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon today at the Mary Ella Brown Neighborhood Center, 1350 E. Annadale Ave., Fresno.

The garden, funded in part by the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health Mental Health Services Act, is designed to promote good health and provide a peaceful place for visitors.

The breakfast will include educational sessions on breast cancer awareness and healthy eating demonstrations.

Information:(559) 264-7185.

Dispose of unwanted prescription drugs

Fresno County sites will accept unwanted and unused prescription drugs today, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office will collect drugs at 2200 Fresno St., Fresno; 5717 E. Shields Ave., Fresno; and 1055 S. Golden State Blvd., Selma.

Safe drug drop-off boxes will also be at the Fresno County Jail and police departments in Clovis, Fresno State, Parlier, Orange Cove and Mendota.

The Fresno Bee