Following through on investigative leads first churned up by the Fontana Police Department in the aftermath of the March kidnapping and extortion of a 79-year-old man has led to the arrest of another element of what is believed to be a network of sophisticated criminals operating in Southern California and elsewhere.
In the most recent instance, it was the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department that collared at least four members of the gang, which, it has now been learned, originated in Colombia.
On March 11, 2026, two Hispanic men approached an elderly man, also a Latino, at El Super market located at 16950 Foothill Boulevard. The two suspects led the victim to believe they were armed and told him they would harm his daughter if he did not comply with their demands, thus prevailing on him to drive them in his car to the Wells Fargo bank near Summit Avenue. At the bank, the victim withdrew $25,000 and gave the money to the suspects. The suspects then used the threat of violence to get the victim to drive a short distance to a Target store, where he was told to go inside. When the 79-year-old did as he was instructed, the two men fled. Continue reading →

One of a persistent pattern of what authorities say are highly organized thefts involving international criminals targeting railroad cargo cars led to a cache of lithium batteries that were in transit catching fire early in the morning of June 3.
According to the Association of American Railroads, “In recent years, organized criminal groups have increasingly targeted the nation’s railroads using sophisticated tactics and technology to commit cargo theft.”
Over the last eight to ten months, an intensified crackdown on railroad cargo theft has been pursued by a multitude of agencies and entities, including the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Police as well as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
In Southern California in particular, investigators have learned that the perpetrators have previously succeeded because they had inside information about railroad company operations. Continue reading →

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 9 unanimously adopted the county’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget, extending to expenditures of $10.9 billion through all of its funds of which $5,110,014,100 is to be spent through its general operating fund.
The county will appropriate $67,834,389 for community development and housing; $44,893,263 for libraries; a whopping $383,505,962 for behavioral health services; $320,668,375 on risk management, consisting primarily in purchasing insurance and settling existing lawsuits; $65,113,828 on its fleet of vehicles; $341,157,818 on the operation of its landfills and trash disposal; $983,934,382 in running the main campus of the county hospital in Colton known as the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center; another $37,135,625 in lease payments on county medical facilities; $204,273,691 constructing, maintaining and repairing streets, roads and highways; $962,650,876 on capital improvements; $28,134,903 on what is called business solutions development within the innovation and technology department; $71,524,010 on computer operations within the innovation and technology department; $38,691,060 on telecommunications services within the innovation and technology department; $5,465,968 on printing and $8,446,272 on mail and courier services.
County officials asserted that the budget covers the provision of “core services, preserving financial stability and positioning the county to navigate future fiscal and economic challenges.”
Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dawn Rowe said, “Despite a challenging fiscal climate statewide, San Bernardino County is delivering a steady, common-sense budget that protects essential services and keeps our county financially strong for years to come.”

FBN20260004394
The following entity is doing business primarily in San Bernardino County as
ROYAL CREST ESTATES 7484 KICKAPOO TRAIL YUCCA VALLEY, CA 92284: ROYAL CREST MHP, LLC 10201 WHITETAIL DR. OAKDALE, CA 95361
Business Mailing Address: PO BOX 1548 OAKDALE, CA 95361
The business is conducted by: A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY registered with the State of California.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: MARCH 2, 2012.
By signing, I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime (B&P Code 17913). I am also aware that all information on this statement becomes Public Record upon filing.
/s/ DUANE BRAZIL, Manager
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 05/12/2026
I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office San Bernardino County Clerk By:/Deputy K3379
Notice-This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professions Code).
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on May 29 and June 5, 12 & 19, 2026.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:
Michael Jay Collier aka Michael Collier Case NO. PROVA2600152
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of Michael Jay Collier aka Michael Collier A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Maryann Briseno in the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino.
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority., Maryann Briseno be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A hearing on the petition will be held in Dept. F2 at 09:00 AM on 07/14/2026 at Superior Court of California, County of Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino  Fontana Division, , San Bernardino, 17780 Arrow Boulevard, Fontana, California 92335, Fontana Division
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under Section 9052 of the California Probate Code.
Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.
Kristine M. Borgia (SB#276777):
3963 11th St Ste 202, Riverside, CA 92501 Riverside CA 92501-3525
Telephone No: 951-823-5138
Published in the SBCS  Montclair on:
05/29/2026, 06/05/2026, 06/12/2026

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: AGUSTIN NEGRETE HURTADO
CASE NO. PROVA2600393
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of AGUSTIN NEGRETE HURTADO: a petition for probate has been filed by YOLANDA CARRILLO in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO.
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that YOLANDA CARRILLO be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A hearing on the petition will be held July 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. at
San Bernardino County Superior Court Fontana District
Department F2 – Fontana
17780 Arrow Boulevard
Fontana, CA 92335
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under Section 9052 of the California Probate Code.
Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.
Attorney for Yolanda Carrillo:
R. SAM PRICE SB 208603/
PRICE LAW FIRM, APC
454 Cajon Street
REDLANDS, CA 92373
Phone (909) 328 7000
Fax (909) 475 9500
attorneys@pricelawfirm.com
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on May 29 and June 5 & 12, 2026.

Continue reading →

In five of the six San Bernardino County governmental constitutional positions up for election in the June 2 Primary, the incumbents prevailed.
Looked at in another way, in another way, in all six of those contests, the candidate favored by the county’s social and political establishment won.
Up for reelection this year were Sheriff/Coroner-Public Administrator Shannon Dicus, District Attorney Jason Anderson, Treasurer-Tax Collector/Auditor Controller Ensen Mason, Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk Josie Gonzales, Second District County Supervisor Jesse Armendarez and Fourth District Supervisor Curt Hagman.
On Tuesday night, after the ballots contained in the ballot boxes from all 2,065 of the county’s precincts had been counted, which consisted of the votes cast by 224,573 or approximately 18,19 percent of the county’s 1,234,386 registered voters, Dicus, Armendarez and Hagman had come out on top, having captured more than 50 percent of the votes cast in their races to avoid having to take part in a run-off in November. Moreover, Anderson and Gonzales were reelected to upcoming four-year terms, essentially by proclamation, insofar as they faced no opposition.
Mason was the lone incumbent who failed to hold onto his position. Continue reading →

By Mark Gutglueck
“The close of an era” is how the outcome of Tuesday’s voting in San Bernardino’s municipal elections was described, with two of the members of the city council who have more or less been central players in the council’s ruling coalition for the last six years having been shut out of office and the longest-serving member of the council who has been a mainstay on that ruling coalition being forced into a run-off in November where his chances of reelection appear to be at best fifty-fifty.
In the same contest, incumbent Mayor Helen Tran, whose first term has been marred by administrative faux pas beyond her control and the political resistance of the aforementioned ruling coalition, was reelected and by the outcome in the accompanying council contests strengthened considerably, having been given a council line-up for the next two years, at least, which will give her a shot at accomplishments in guiding and shaping city policy that has eluded her the last four years.
At stake in this year’s election was whether Tran, who was formerly the city’s human resources director and since 2022 mayor, was to remain in office in the face of challenges mounted by former Mayor John Valdivia, perennial mayoral candidate Rick Avila or relative political newcomers Amy Malone, Ivan Garcia and Ronnika Ngalande. In addition, there were contests in three of the city’s seven council wards. Tested in these was whether First Ward Councilman Ted Sanchez could hold off his predecessor as First Ward representative, Virginia Marquez and two others – Ron Alvarado and Omar Williams; Second Ward Councilwoman Sandra Ibarra’s staying power against her predecessor in the position, Benito Barrios, and another hopeful, Christian Shaughnessy; and if the dean of San Bernardino’s municipal politicians, Fred Shorett, who has been a member of the city council representing its Fourth Ward since 2009, would be able to withstand the onslaught of four of his constituents trying to unseat him. Those opposing Shorett were Erick Marquez, Jesus “Chuy” Medina, Vince Laster and Joe Salas. Continue reading →

How Fontana and San Bernardino County built a machine that stole from taxpayers for five decades, and why no one was ever held accountable. It began with a casino credit line. It ends, if it ever ends, with an assistant city manager involved in the processing his brother’s real estate applications and a planning commissioner whose brother is a member of the county board of supervisors and a principal in the city’s preeminent real estate company who oversees and holds tremendous sway over the municipality’s official land use decisions.
In between, the residents of Fontana and San Bernardino County have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to fund a corruption machine so durable and so patient it simply waited out every reform, replaced every actor who left or got caught, and kept running.
This is the story of that machine, how it was built, who built it, what laws were broken, and why, across five decades, four mayors, three county supervisors and a bribery prosecution, no one, at least from Fontana, has paid the price for their depredations.
By Carlos Avalos
Era One: The Ratelle Years (1973–1987)
The Man Who Built the Template
Jack Ratelle was Fontana’s city manager for fourteen years, and during that time, he turned a struggling Inland Empire city into his personal enrichment machine. The mechanism was not subtle. Developers who wanted entitlements, approvals, or public infrastructure money paid Ratelle through a credit line at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Ratelle made weekly or bimonthly trips to collect, then returned to City Hall with stories about winning or losing at the dice tables. It was both his cover story and his collection mechanism.
For council members, the bribes were tailored to circumstance: a city contract steered to one councilman’s welding business; a no-show job created for another’s unemployed son-in-law; direct cash distributions to Mayor Nat Simon and others. The arrangement was Continue reading →

An Ohio-based smoke bomb designer/importer and two other companies have agreed to pay more than $4 million to the United States for costs and damages from the El Dorado Fire of 2020, which was ignited when one of the Ohio company’s smoke bombs created flames when it was used as the culmination of a gender reveal party. The flames spread into what was a nearly 23,000-acre conflagration, which resulted in the death of a firefighter.
Wholesale Fireworks Corporation, which is located in Hubbard, Ohio, and its subsidiary, American Fireworks Wholesale LLC, agreed to pay $4 million to settle claims brought on behalf of the United States Forest Service.
A third defendant, Pink or Blue Gender Team Incorporated, a Florida-based company, has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle claims related to the fire.
The fire was ignited on September 5, 2020, by a pyrotechnic device manufactured by Wholesale Fireworks and altered by Pink or Blue Gender Team at a gender reveal party thrown by Refugio Manuel Jimenez, Jr. and Angelina Renee Jimenez in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The flames from the device lit dry grass surrounding it, whereupon the couple, party attendees and bystanders sought to douse the flames with bottled water and called 911. The intense heat, the parched condition of nearby vegetation and winds caused the fire to quickly spread and move onto the mountainside, where the inaccessibility of the terrain in the fire’s path resulted in the fire raging out of control. Continue reading →

Loma Linda University Medical Center and Loma Linda University Health Care along with their affiliated organizations have agreed to pay $7.5 million in civil penalties, reimbursements and fees in addition to implementing extensive compliance measures to resolve allegations that their employees unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste, medical waste, and confidential patient information at facilities throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The $7.5 million settlement was worked out between the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, the District Attorney of Riverside County and Loma Linda University Health Care, following an investigation that was ongoing for nearly four years and a two-month long discussion between the party’s with regard to the implication of the information obtained in the course of the probe.
The investigation began in April 2022 and focused on how waste generated at hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities within the Loma Linda University Health network was being identified, handled, stored, and disposed of.
Investigators found numerous instances in which regulated waste was improperly disposed of into regular trash containers destined for municipal landfills. Items that turned up during inspections of landfills in both Riverside and San Bernardino included hazardous Continue reading →