There were no drownings, no major accidents and no fires in the Oakdale area but there was still plenty going on as heavy traffic clogged roadways and police chased down drunk drivers and busted criminals right and left during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Friday, July 2 kicked off the long weekend with the arrest of a wanted criminal following a domestic violence dispute at a residence in the 300 block of South Third Avenue.
Police arrested Juan Camacho, 25, of Mexico on charges of felony battery after he threw his girlfriend against the wall following an argument over their 11-month-old child. Camacho was angry with his girlfriend because the baby wouldn’t stop crying, preventing him from sleeping. The victim ran from the residence and told police she feared Camacho and what he might do to her if she cooperated with police. She was given a temporary restraining order and Camacho, who is a Norteño gang member and on probation for assault with a deadly weapon, was taken into custody and is awaiting extradition. Two weeks ago, agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were in Oakdale looking for Camacho, as he is here in the United States illegally.
Police were able to arrest a young man for felony vandalism when eagle eye witnesses caught him defacing property on Monday, July 5. Police caught Pedro Pineda, 18, of San Jose in the 500 block of South Sierra Avenue around 10 p.m. with spray cans in his possession. It was discovered that Pineda, who is in town for the summer visiting relatives, had tagged nine different locations throughout the city, including the trains, a bike shed, the railroad crossings, storage units, and an electrical box. Pineda admitted to the vandalism, saying he fell into a bad crowd.
A 45-year-old Oakdale man suffered serious injuries when he encountered two gang members who beat him with a wooden rod for being in “Norteño territory” on Sunday, July 4 around 5:30 a.m. in the 200 block of North Fifth Avenue. Oak Valley Hospital contacted police when the man went to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.
An Oakdale woman is facing serious charges after she was arrested over the holiday weekend on suspicion of child cruelty and a social host ordinance violation after six juveniles were found with extreme levels of intoxication while in her home. A 15-year-old boy was taken to the hospital with a bloody head injury in addition to his dangerous level of intoxication.
Police arrived at the West H Street home of Angela Little, 39, of Oakdale and found two teenagers, a boy and girl, passed out on the front lawn, at 1 a.m. Monday, July 5. The front door was ajar but no one answered when officers attempted to make contact. They entered the residence and found evidence of a party with 30 empty beer cans and a half gallon bottle of vodka. There were juveniles scattered throughout the house, ranging in age from 12 to 16, and all had BAC levels between .176 to .240. There was a large pool of blood and broken glass, which lead to the discovery of the injured teen lying in one of the bedrooms. He was transported to Oak Valley Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Little, who was extremely intoxicated herself, told police she had told the kids to leave the home.
“None of the kids could speak coherently,” Sgt. Michael Eggener of the Oakdale Police Department said. “She knew about the kid with the blood and the party.”
With the social host ordinance violation, the city has the option of billing Little for the officers’ time in investigating the case as well as other fines in addition to the criminal charges.
Oakdale City Fire and Oakdale Rural Fire Protection District both reported there were no fires during the weekend, though illegal fireworks kept them on their toes.
“We were chasing them all over the place,” said Oakdale City Firefighter Brandon Scull. “There were a lot of them going off up in the sky.”
