Here we go again...the politicians want an October Surprise, so here is my version:
OCTOBER 1, 2012
- FROM KMPH FOX 26...The University Police Department at Fresno State arrested and turned over to Fresno PD a man (today) after he perched in a tree in the Free Speech Area of campus and refused to climb down despite repeated orders from police and firefighters, the university said in a news release. University Police say the man -- wearing only underwear -- was first reported acting erratically inside the Henry Madden Library before he went outside and climbed the tree across from the Free Speech Area stage near some student organizations' booths, university spokesman Tom Uribes said. As a crowd gathered, University Police sealed off a portion of the area and spent more than an hour trying to coax the man to come down a ladder raised near the tree trunk. The confrontation ended when the man stepped toward a ladder, which, after he balked, was knocked aside by officers, Uribes said. They grasped the man and brought him to the ground. University Police took the man to a hospital after he complained of pain. He was then taken to the Fresno County Jail. The man's name has not been released. It's not known if he's a student at Fresno State. Details on what charges might be filed were not immediately available. That was not in the Science Department’s lesson plan!
OCTOBER 2, 2012
- At about 10:30am, Clovis Police were dispatched to the WinCo at Peach and Ashlan, where the occupants of a minivan and a truck were harassing a customer in hate crime fashion. They were chasing a man with a golf club, yelling “White Power!” According to a witness, who got a partial plate of one of the vehicles, says that one vehicle had the Confederate flag on it.
- At about 10:05pm, Fresno Police were dispatched to the area of Pontiac and Delno for a disturbance involving a naked man.
OCTOBER 4, 2012
- At about 11:30am, the Fresno Fire Department responded to 4264 N. Katy, in the area of Ashlan and Blythe for a major residential fire. Here are two reports on the incident:
>From “KFSN ABC-30“:
Investigators have determined the cause of an explosion at a Northwest Fresno home. They now believe it was caused by a meth lab inside a house near Ashlan and Blythe. Firefighters responded around noon Thursday after a loud explosion was heard and flames as high as 30 feet in the air could be seen. One man was inside the house at the time and suffered burns to 75 percent of his body. Two others were not injured. Investigators say the suspects started renting the home 30 days ago and they believe they may be tied to a Mexican drug cartel.
>From “The Fresno Bee":
The blast blew off the back walls and set the home on fire. The garage door at the front of the house was blown off its frame. Neighbors said the explosion felt like an earthquake. Windows of at least five neighboring houses were shattered by the force of the blast. The house next door suffered extensive damage to the roof and kitchen as windows and doors were smashed and kitchen cabinets were blown off walls. "I was laying in bed and I saw a big ball of fire," said the neighbor, who identified himself as Johnny and declined to give his last name. "My wife and kids started screaming in the other room." The man said he got his family out of their house uninjured. The American Red Cross was assisting the family of four with shelter, food and water.
OCTOBER 5, 2012
- At about 12:02pm, Fresno Police were dispatched to the 4400 block of West Terrace for a man in front of his house, masterbating.
- At about 2:05pm, the Fresno Fire Department was dispatched to a commercial warehouse fire at Maple & Turner.
>From "The Fresno Bee":
A fast-moving three-alarm fire Friday in southeast Fresno destroyed five vacant warehouse buildings and sent a plume of smoke billowing hundreds of feet into the mid-afternoon sky. It took more than 40 firefighters close to an hour to get the fire at Maple and Turner avenues under control. There were no injuries, but the buildings burned to the ground. When firefighters arrived after receiving a call at 2:05 p.m., they could not enter the buildings, which were filled with smoke and with fire licking out. The buildings were collapsing as firefighters arrived. "The fire got very big, very fast," said department spokesman Koby Johns. The cause of the fire was not known Friday afternoon and no damage estimate was available. He said the buildings were wood-framed with aluminum walls and that the wood was extremely dry. The warehouses were in the middle of a residential area, and firefighters considered evacuating residents. No neighboring homes were affected by the fire, but the intense heat melted a trash container in front of a Turner Avenue home across the street. Because of the number of firefighters battling the blaze, the Fresno City Fire Department had to suspend medical-aid calls for a short time during the initial stages of the fire, Johns said. The warehouses covered 10,000 to 20,000 square feet and appeared to have few items inside, Johns said. The buildings were once part of a box plant operated by American Forest Products' manufacturing division. Neighbors said the plant closed about 20 years ago. A nearby resident who identified himself only as Cisco said people were working in the warehouses Friday but left about 45 minutes before firefighters were called. He said neighbors were told that the property was being restored as a farmers market.
OCTOBER 7, 2012
- At about 1:00am, in the area of Kings Canyon and Maple, an older gentlemen was seen walking down the street...naked, and yelling incoherently. It is assumed that he was drunk.
OCTOBER 20, 2012
- At about 11:09pm, Fresno Fire was called to an apartment fire in the area of Backer & Huntington. During the incident, a firefighter radioed the crew of Truck #10, warning them of a motorist using the sidewalk to drive around the fire apparatus parked in the street, and was coming right for the Truck #10 rig...luckily, the car missed hitting Truck #10. Unknown if the motorist received a ticket from Fresno Police.
OCTOBER 23, 2012
- At about 11:28am, Fresno PD was dispatched to the area of Shields & Maroa for a Hispanic male in a camouflage jacket walking in the westbound lanes of Shields, flipping off passing cars going around him.
OCTOBER 24, 2012
- At about 12:54pm, Fresno PD was dispatched to the area of Simpson and Glenn for a naked female running back and forth from a yard into the street.
- At about 7:20pm, Fresno PD was dispatched to the Apple Store at Fashion Fair for a male sitting in front of the store with a backpack. Inside the bag was a pair of white nunchaku. The man wasn’t doing anything, other than sitting, but mall security was afraid to approach him.
- At about 7:40pm, Fresno PD was dispatched to First & Belmont for an assault\“bike-jacking.” Apparently, the suspect slashed the victim’s throat...the victim is expected to live.
