ORANGE COVE MAYOR'S SON CALLS DRUG CHARGE 'BOGUS'

The son of Orange Cove's longtime mayor pleaded not guilty Tuesday in
Fresno County Superior Court to a felony charge of being in possession
of a controlled substance -- prescription medicine without doctor's
approval.

Outside court, Victor Lopez Jr., 43, said he was innocent and has been
under doctor's orders to take prescription painkillers for a
work-related back injury.

"It's bogus," he said of the charge.

The drug charge comes on the heels of a two-month identity-theft
investigation by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. In a news
release, investigators said they searched the home of Lopez Jr. in
Orange Cove and arrested him Nov. 4 after "narcotics were discovered
in his home."

Investigators were looking for methamphetamine after someone said
Lopez gave him the illegal drug in exchange for stolen credit card
information, according to an affidavit by sheriff's deputy Ryan Burk.
But methamphetamine was not found in Lopez Jr.'s home, a search
warrant stated.

Outside court, Lopez Jr., 43, said he was being unfairly
targeted.

"Come on man, I don't mess with methamphetamines," he said. "I have a
wife and kids."

Lopez's father, Victor Sr., has won six straight mayoral bids. In
recent years, the elder Lopez has been criticized for claiming tens of
thousands of dollars in reimbursements for out-of-town lobbying and
speaking trips, and also for making sure his son had a city job.

From 2005 to May this year, Lopez Jr. worked as a contractor for the
city and monitored Orange Cove's massive skate park and bike park.

Sheriff detectives began investigating Lopez Jr. after an Orange Cove
woman reported in August that her credit card had been stolen.
Investigators determined that her son had given the card number to
Lopez Jr. in exchange for methamphetamine, according to Burk's affidavit.

Several online purchases were made with the card, including $1,220 for
a Dell computer, $149 from Zales Jewelry, and $1,794 from an online
clothing outfit, rollerzonly.com., the affidavit stated.

Burk's affidavit said investigators traced some of the purchases to an
e-mail and phone account belonging to Lopez Jr. The credit card
company canceled two of the orders, but the rollerzonly.com order was
delivered to the alleged identity-theft victim's home, the affidavit
said.

The search warrant shows that deputies confiscated several items from
Lopez Jr.'s home, including skateboarding and BMX bicycle equipment,
as well as computer and other electronic equipment that allegedly
belonged to the city.

Orange Cove City Manager Alan Bengyel has said the items discovered in
Lopez's house weren't stolen.

The elder Lopez said Tuesday that his son is innocent and that the
sheriff's identity-theft investigation "is a big misunderstanding."

Lopez Jr. is free on $5,000 bail. His next court date is Jan. 19.