FRESNO – A Fresno County Superior Court clerk was arrested for allegedly plotting with an inmate to intimidate a victim into not testifying at a criminal trial.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department arrested 31-year-old Christina Lugo, who has worked for the superior court since 2007, on two counts of conspiracy to dissuade a victim.
Lugo is accused of aiding 31-year-old Ricky Modesto in threatening a man who witnessed a barroom assault at the Oasis Saloon and Grill in Sanger in 2012.
Ricky Modesto
Modesto was arrested in November 2012 in connection to the Sanger assault. The victim in the incident lost several teeth and suffered a broken jaw. Modesto bailed out of jail but then failed to show up at a court hearing. He was arrested in November of this year after a warrant was issued.
According to the sheriff’s department, Lugo orchestrated a number of phone calls and text messages to get Modesto in touch with several fellow gang members. During the communications, the men were allegedly recruited to try to intimidate the witness in the Sanger assault case.
According to court documents, Lugo and Modesto “have a child in common.”
The gang members allegedly involved in the conspiracy were also arrested. They have been identified as: Leonard Aguilar, 26; Moises Lopez, 42; and Anthony Ray Tapia, 37. Aguilar and Lopez were booked on one count of conspiracy to dissuade a victim and Tapia was booked on one count of a felon in possession of a firearm.
Both Lugo and Tapia were released on bond.
Read More:
ABC30: Fresno County court clerk accused of witness intimidation
Fresno Bee: Fresno County court clerk helped inmate try to intimidate witnesses
