Imperial Valley Press Quick News

111 closed due to fire

California Highway Patrol closed a stretch of 111 after a three-alarm fire started at a facility on Keystone and Highway 111.

The fire, which started at 3:30 p.m. Saturday is expected to burn for several more hours.

The facility burns wood chips as a source of energy, and several large piles of wood chips had caught fire outside the facility. Officials do not know how the wood chips caught fire yet. There are no injuries so far.

Read Sunday's edition online or in print for more details.

-- Megan Bakker, staff writer

Centinela prison employee suffers cuts to face and neck by inmate

SEELEY --- A plumber at Centinela State Prison was airlighted to a San Diego area hospital today after an inmate inexplicably slashed his face numerous times with a sharp object, Administrative Lt. Richard Dubbe said.

The attack occurred at about 11:23 a.m. in the vocational area near Facility C, Dubbe said. The plumber, who is a prison employee, was in stable condition but suffered cuts to his face and neck, Dubbe said.

Please read Thursday's issue of the Imperial Valley Press for more information on this story.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer  

Fugitive wanted for homicide caught in Mexico and arrested, officials say

CALEXICO --- A San Diego gangmember wanted for a three-year-old homicide case was arrested this morning by U.S. Marshals in a remote Mexican town, authorities said.

Ivan Alvarado, who was prominently featured in a segment of TV's "America's Most Wanted" in December 2007, was found in a hideout in El Tapia, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Senior Criminal Investigator Wade K. Gregg. Alvarado, who was also arrested on a single federal warrant for violating his probation as being a felon in possession of a weapon, said Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Melisio Hernandez, Sr.

Please read Tuesday's issue of the Imperial Valley Press for more information on this story.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Man wanted for homicide in Monterey County caught, officials say

CALEXICO --- A 44-year-old Salinas man wanted for a homicide case out of Monterey County was arrested Sunday afternoon after trying to enter the U.S. with fraudulent documents through the downtown Port of Entry, according to a press statement released Monday.

Jesus Retamoza-Chaidez was detained after he presented a Mexican passport and a U.S. visa that was later determined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers as fake. A subsequent check with law enforcement databases revealed that he had a warrant for homicide issued by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

Please read Tuesday's issue of the Imperial Valley Press for more information on this story.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

No injuries during early morning blaze at apartment complex

No injuries were reported early this morning during a fire at an apartment complex on West Main Street where it swept through one unit below to the one above it, an El Centro fire captain said.

The 2:45 a.m. blaze displaced six families and appears to be electrical in origin, said El Centro Fire Capt. Chad Whitlock.The fire started at a ground floor apartment and quickly spread to the unit immediately above it, Whitlock said.

Whitlock estimated that the fire caused about $350,000 in damages to the building and property of the families. The fire, which occurred to a complex located in the 1700 block of West Main Street, is under investigation.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer