Visalia Criminal Defense Law Blog

In the 1990s, it seemed like a meth bust was featured nearly every night on the evening news. But, then you stopped hearing so much about methamphetamine because all the media outlets began focusing on the heroin problem.

To some extent, the opioid epidemic that has taken over the United States diverted media attention away from the methamphetamine problem here in our country. In reality, California has a long history with methamphetamine production dating back to the early 1970s.

For many years, the United States has been seeking ways to cut back on the use of addictive drugs. While there's no way to completely do this, the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) goes a long way in helping everyone better understand what is legal and illegal in regard to drug use.

This federal drug policy has been in place since 1970 and is designed to regulate the manufacturing and distribution of all types of controlled substances. Furthermore, it categorizes drugs into five classifications.

• Schedule 1: These are the most harmful substances with examples including LSD, heroin and ecstasy.
• Schedule 2: Examples include morphine and cocaine.
• Schedule 3: Examples include Vicodin and all forms of anabolic steroids.
• Schedule 4: Examples include Valium, Xanax, and Ambien.
• Schedule 5: Examples include cough suppressants and other drugs that have medical benefits.

A spokesperson for the Visalia Police Department reports that a 72-year-old area resident apparently decided to drive around striking people with his car on Halloween night. He fled the crash scene each and every time. Once he was tracked down, police determined that he was likely drunk at the time he caused the collisions.

The first incident occurred just before 7 p.m. on Oct. 31. A concerned motorist reported having seen the driver of Chevrolet Silverado crash into a mailbox along the 1700 block of South Garden Street. The motorist apparently didn't get out of his truck to survey the damage, but instead, kept driving.

So far, three individuals have been taken into police custody for their roles related to the Sept. 16 hit-and-run death of a well-respected elementary school administrator who worked for the Clovis Unified School District. Investigators with the California Highway Patrol say the man was struck and killed while taking a jog near Fraint Road in Fresno that day.

Highway patrol officers took the 18-year-old male believed to have caused the crash into custody soon after the incident occurred. He's since been charged with manslaughter and felony hit-and-run offenses.